The Reality of Things
by goldpiece
Summary: After their marriage in Vegas, Booth and Brennan must deal with real life together. Followup to 'What Happens in Vegas...'
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Well, here it is, the follow-up to 'What Happens in Vegas…" I hope you enjoy. It'll have a little of everything in it I think.

Seeley Booth had never been so glad to get home from a case. He'd been out of town for a month, which in his opinion was far too long to be away from his new wife. They'd been married for nine months now, and it had been a bit rocky, but they were adjusting. After returning from Las Vegas, they had begun to look for a house, which caused a lot of headaches and quite a few fights as they had differing ideas about the environment in which they wanted to live. Both he and Temperance finally agreed on a four bedroom colonial about half an hour outside of DC.

Temperance also had to learn how to be a parent, which was interesting. She was good with kids, he'd always known that, but the adjustment was hard. Poor Parker was having a bad year as far as illness went, and had managed to give everything to Temperance. The worst of it was a month and a half ago when she'd picked up his strep throat. She'd been miserable and was forced by her doctor to not go into work. Booth shook his head with a slight smile on his lips. The poor girl had a lot of adjustments to get used to. Hell, they both did, but so far, they'd managed.

Booth stepped into the foyer and hung up his coat. Winter was great, but it was getting far too cold outside. He walked through the family room, pausing when he realized that Temperance was curled up on the couch with his son, Parker. Booth looked at the pair for a moment before noticing the large metal bowl at the base of the couch.

"Bones, hey, wakey wakey, sweetheart," Booth said as he gently shook his wife awake. Temperance slowly opened her eyes, letting them focus before she brought her gaze up to Booth. A smile spread across her face when she saw him.

"You're back! How was Milwaukee?" Brennan rubbed her eyes before glancing at the clock. It was four thirty in the morning.

"Awful, cold, and I couldn't wait to get home. What's Parker doing here? I thought we had him next weekend." Booth gently scooped up the little boy so Tempe could sit up on the couch. She looked exhausted.

"Rebecca had a last minute conference and couldn't find a babysitter. I told her I could watch him, but after he got here, he started throwing up. I took him to the doctor today, and they said he has a pretty bad bout of the stomach flu."

"How long have you had him here?"

"Since Friday evening. He wanted to put up the holiday decorations, but he was too sick, so he just directed while I put them up." Booth looked around the room, noticing the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree, some garlands, and three stockings hung over the fireplace. Booth leaned down slightly and kissed Tempe, glad that she had made the effort with Parker.

"Let me put him to bed, then we can talk, or go to sleep, or whatever." Booth turned to leave the room, Temperance right on his heels. He laid Parker down in his room and pulled the covers over the small boy.

"He only fell asleep about a half hour ago. He hasn't stopped vomiting in three days, so I've been trying to keep fluids in him like the doctor said."

"Yeah, it can get a bit hard. You haven't given him apple juice, have you?"

"I did. I thought it would be easier on his stomach than orange juice."

"Well, usually you'd be right. For whatever reason, apple juice makes him throw up when he's sick."

"Then I made him worse?" Her worried expression was cute on her. Booth pulled her close to him and kissed her temple.

"Hey, you didn't know. The important thing is that he's asleep now, so let's let him rest, okay?" She nodded and followed Booth from Parker's room. "And all the better he's finally asleep. We have to be in court in the morning, remember?"

"Ugh, I completely forgot about that."

"Well, try to get a couple hours of sleep. Is Rose stopping by tomorrow?"

"Yeah, she said she'd be here at eight." Temperance collapsed onto her bed, and closed her eyes even before slipping under the covers. Booth pulled the blankets over her before changing for bed. It had obviously been a long night for both of them, and at the current point, any amount of sleep would be a welcome thing.

The state of sleep didn't last very long for Booth. Within half an hour of his collapse into bed, he heard crying from the other room.

"Tempe," came the cry of the small boy. Temperance sat up with a start, but Booth waved her back down.

"I'll go get him," he said as he crawled out of bed. Booth made his way down the hallway and into his son's room. Parker looked up at his father and held out his arms. The FBI agent sat on the bed and pulled the little boy up to him. "What's wrong, bub?"

"My tummy hurts."

"Why don't we go get you some orange juice and see if that helps?" Parker nodded and cuddled in closer to his father. Booth held the little boy close and went in the other room in search of something that would settle his stomach.

XxXxX

Temperance sat up sharply at the sound of a doorbell. She rubbed her eyes wearily, having only received a few hours of sleep. With a wide yawn, she padded down to the front door and opened it, surprised to see Rose Alipoli, Parker's nanny there.

"Rose, what're you doing here so early?" Temperance stepped aside to let the nanny into the house.

"Early? I'm on time. It's eight o'clock."

"Eight? Oh no." Temperance rushed into the family room where Booth was asleep with Parker. She shook her husband awake in a panic. "Seeley, we forgot to set the alarm. Come on, get up." Booth opened his eyes, and then shut them tight against the morning glare.

"Alarm? What are you talking about?"

"Rose is here." Booth sat up, barely catching Parker before the little boy slipped off of his father's chest. Rose came into the room and extracted the little boy from his father's grip.

"I'll take Parker; you two get ready to go. I imagine you'll be late for work."

"Worse, we're late for court."

XxXxX

"Would you please state your name and occupation for the court?" The prosecuting attorney paced in front of the witness stand as Temperance sat calmly for questioning.

"My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan. I'm a forensic anthropologist for the Jeffersonian Institute."

"And what exactly is it that a forensic anthropologist does?"

"When a body is found that is too decomposed or otherwise destroyed, and cannot be identified by conventional means, I'm called in to assist with the identification."

"What goes into that process?"

"I can look at bones and determine whether or not the victim was male or female, I can determine an approximate age, their height, and what if any injuries they've had to their skeletal structure in the past. I can also look over the remains to determine the cause of death based on bone damage."

"And how do you do that?"

"Certain injuries leave markers on the bone. For instance, blunt force trauma often leaves evidence of damage not only to the outside of the skull, but the intracranial bleeding will then stain the underside of the bone confirming the fatal blow."

"And what did you discover about the remains of Susan Walker?"

"Susan was initially struck from behind, and the blow likely knocked her to the ground."

"It didn't kill her, though."

"No, it didn't kill her. Her hands and arms show defensive wounds indicating that she fought back. There are a series of cut marks on her ribs, indicating that she was stabbed multiple times, the last and fatal wound being to her throat."

"And how can you tell that was the fatal wound?"

"From the angle of the blow, the knife would have struck her across the corroted artery, causing her to bleed out. In all, she received twenty one stab wounds." The jury winced at the words. The prosecuting attorney nodded and faced the defense.

"Your witness." He sat down as the female lawyer of the suspected murderer stood. Temperance recognized her immediately as Howard Epps' former lawyer, Amy Morton.

"Dr. Brennan, are you married?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you married?"

"I hardly see how this is relevant to the trial."

"You didn't answer the question, Dr. Brennan." Temperance looked over at the judge, who only nodded, indicating that she'd like her to proceed.

"Yes, I am married."

"To whom?"

"That's really not any concern of yours."

"It is when you're married to the agent assigned to the case."

"Objection, badgering the witness." The prosecuting attorney stood up, glaring at Amy. The judge looked down at her as well.

"Objection sustained. Miss Morton, please watch yourself."

"I apologize your Honor: I'm merely stating a fact."

"Is that true, Dr. Brennan?" The judge turned her gaze onto Temperance. The forensic anthropologist sighed before answering.

"I am married to Special Agent Seeley Booth."

"For how long," asked Amy as the questioning continued. Temperance let her gaze settle onto Booth for a split second before answering.

"Nine months."

"So this was your first case working with your husband?"

"This is the first case I assisted on after we were married, yes. We successfully closed one hundred cases prior to this one."

"Isn't it safe to say that because of your close association with the agent in question that you might be willing to make a few allowances with the evidence to help him along?"

"Are you suggesting that I might falsify information to get a conviction?"

"I'm only asking if it's a possibility. Have you ever falsified information?"

"No. Even if I were to attempt it, which I never would, I have an entire team that has to confirm the findings. Any error would be caught in the process."

"Why do you suppose that the FBI has a policy stating that partners are not to be married?"

"I would assume that the policy is in place to protect the objectivity of both members. I'm sure that the bureau wouldn't want any of their agents taking unnecessary risks because their spouse was being threatened."

"Then why is it okay for the two of you to work together?"

"I'm not with the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

"So you're saying that makes it okay?"

"According to Agent Booth's superiors, yes. We have never shown any reason why we shouldn't be allowed to continue working together. Agent Booth and I work well together because our strengths balance out the others. He can read people better than anyone I've met, and my ability to read bones just backs up his suspicions. On the times when he feels very strongly about a certain suspect, he's learned to wait until my evidence can back up the claim."

"So you would twist the evidence to fit."

"No."

"But that's what you just said. You said that he waits for your evidence to back up his suspicion. That sounds like evidence tampering to me."

"Objection, leading the witness."

"Objection sustained. Miss Morton, I will not warn you again."

"I apologize, your honor. I have nothing further." She went to sit as Temperance left the stand. The anthropologist set her mouth into a grim line as she left the courtroom. Booth stepped outside with her, closing the doors behind them.

"How could she do that, Booth? How could she do it after the favor we did for her?"

"It's her job, Temperance. You know that as well as I do."

"But she's trying to make us sound dishonest."

"She's only doing it because she has a weak case. If we didn't have overwhelming evidence to the contrary, then she wouldn't be resorting to personal attacks. Now, let's get back inside and finish up with the testimony, okay" Temperance nodded and followed Booth back into the courtroom, sure that things couldn't possibly get any worse than they already sounded. She was wrong.

"Agent Booth," Amy began after Booth took the stand, "Can you explain to the court why you're currently in therapy?"

"That's actually a confidential issue."

"Do you feel you have something to hide?"

"Not at all, I just don't see it having any bearing on the case being heard here."

"You could be right, but I feel it has a great deal to do with this case because if you have a diminished mental capacity, then errors could have been made during the investigation."

"I do not have a diminished mental capacity."

"Then why would an FBI agent such as yourself be in therapy? Surely the therapy indicates that you have some sort of problem that affects your ability to do your job."

"If there were any concern about my ability to perform my duties, then I would not be allowed to perform them."

"So dropping a suspect off the edge of a roof and shooting at an ice cream truck doesn't indicate that you might have a problem with your job?"

"Objection, badgering the witness."

"Objection sustained. Miss Morton, don't make me tell you to stop the personal attacks again."

"Of course, your honor. I apologize. I have nothing further." Amy went back to her seat and Booth left the stand to return to his seat by Temperance. She offered him a small squeeze of the hand in reassurance, though she herself was furious that Amy was taking such a low course in this trial. Booth offered her a squeeze back before pulling his hand away. They both knew at this point the worst thing they could do was show too much affection, even if it was in a discreet fashion.

XxXxX

"How could they find him not guilty? His dna was found at the crime scene," Temperance muttered as they sat at the Royal Diner that evening. She was picking at her food, not really hungry. The events of the day had completely stolen her appetite.

"It happens. You can't win them all," Booth said as he stabbed into a piece of pie. Neither was happy with the outcome, and both knew it had to do with Amy's ability to make them seem incompetent.

"He should be in jail, Booth. How is Susan going to see justice now?" Tempe's eyes watered a little. Booth looked at her in surprise. She never cried, or at least she hardly ever cried.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"I'm tired, and I'm mad. He shouldn't have been set free, Seeley. The man killed that little girl, and we proved it, and they let him go."

"It's unfair, I know. Sometimes, those things happen. Once we state our case, it's up to the jury. You know that."

"It doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Of course it doesn't. Now, if you're done, what do you say we get home? I'm sure Rose needs to head home for the evening." Temperance nodded as Booth threw some money down onto the table. As they left, he placed his hand on the small of her back, the move feeling much more supportive to her than its usually unnoticed presence. She offered her husband a tired smile as he held open the door.

Booth was concerned. She usually wasn't so complacent about his chivalry. It was probably because she was so tired. He decided not to question it. She had a long night the evening before, and the events of the day certainly weren't helping. Hopefully the next day would bring a better feel.

They came home to find a note left from Rose stating that Rebecca had shown up to collect Parker, and that she would be in touch regarding his next visit. Temperance was glad the house was quiet and went straight to the bedroom to get some much needed rest. Booth followed her up, and after they changed and got into bed, he pulled her close and kissed her hair.

"Everything's gonna be fine, you know that, right?" She nodded against him, burying her head against his chest. "Tomorrow will feel much better to you." He closed his eyes, and gently caressed her hair. He relaxed as he heard her breathing even into that of sleep.

XxXxX

"Did Cullen say why he wanted to see us?" Temperance asked as they walked down the hallway to the deputy director's office.

"No, he didn't." Booth shrugged as they entered the room. Cullen motioned for the pair to sit down as he finished some last bits of paperwork.

"I heard what happened at the trial yesterday."

"Is that why we're here," Booth asked once Cullen looked up at the pair.

"I made it very clear that any sign of your personal life intruding into your professional one would be grounds for the termination of your partnership."

"You're breaking us up?" Temperance was indignant. They had in no way let their marriage get in the way of work, and now they were being punished for something they couldn't help.

"It's a temporary move. Someone else will be assigned to the Jeffersonian until my superiors feel that your relationship does not interfere with case work. I don't want to split you up, but I have been ordered to do so. I'm sorry."

"Who's going to be assigned?"

"It hasn't been determined yet, but as soon as I know, I'll let the two of you know as well. Unless you have anything you want to add, that's all." Booth and Brennan stood and exited the building. Neither knew what to say, and for once, Booth couldn't think of anything that would be able to calm his wife.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Okay, here's chapter two. If I haven't responded to your reviews for any of my stories, it's not that I don't want to, but I have very limited time on the computer, so just know that they are very welcome and make me quite happy. Anyway, Happy Holidays and enjoy.

Temperance Brennan sat on the cold tile floor of the bathroom with her head hovering over the toilet bowl. She woke up that morning with body aches, chills and nausea, and now found herself trying to throw up as quietly as possible so she wouldn't wake up her husband. Involuntary tears flowed down her cheeks as she purged the contents of her stomach. It had been over a week since the break up of their partnership, and true to form from the last nine months, she had caught Parker's flu bug.

When the bathroom door opened, she knew instantly that Booth was awake, and he was worried. He sat on the floor next to her and held back her hair as she began to retch again.

"Sweetheart, why don't you just call in? You obviously don't feel well."

"I can't. We have some remains coming in from China that I've been asked to examine, and I'm supposed to meet with the new agent assigned to work with the Jeffersonian."

"Both of which can be rescheduled. Stay home." Temperance shook her head and threw up again.

"I can't, I have to go in." Booth sighed and rubbed gentle circles on her back.

"Fine, but I'll be checking up on you, okay?" She nodded and closed her eyes. Booth pulled her to him when she leaned back toward him. He placed a gentle kiss in her hair and ran a hand down her arm. "You feeling a little better?" He felt her nod against his chest. "Then why don't you brush your teeth and I'll see if I can find you something that won't upset your stomach."

"Okay," Temperance said with a weak smile. Booth helped her stand up, made sure she was steady on her feet, and then left the bathroom. Brennan placed her hands on the sink and took in a deep breath. Maybe she should stay home, it would probably be better for her.

XxXxX

"Wow Bren, you look like crap," Angela said as Brennan practically crawled into the lab.

"Thank you, Angela, for that astute observation," Temperance clutched her coat closer to her as she moved to her office.

"So you came to work, why?"

"Because I have work to do. Those remains came in, didn't they?"

"Yes, and Dr. Addy is perfectly capable of looking them over without you. You should have stayed home."

"You sound like Booth."

"Well, he's a smart guy." As the two women stepped into Brennan's office, they noticed a man making himself at home on the couch. He had black hair that was parted on the left and held stiffly in place with gel. His black suit was immaculate, with a crisp white shirt and matching tie. His shoes were so shiny they could reflect their surroundings. He stood as he noticed the two women in the doorway.

"Excuse me, but what are you doing in my office?" Temperance crossed her arms and looked at the man. He gave her an appraising look up and down, and then smiled. Temperance felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She had to be spending too much time around Booth, because she disliked this man instantly.

"You must be Dr. Brennan. I'm Special Agent Connor Gilroy." He held out his hand for Brennan to shake. She looked at it for a moment before taking it. "I've heard so much about you from Agent Sullivan."

"Are you here to introduce yourself, or do you have actual business?" Angela looked at Brennan and shook her head. It wasn't like her to be that abrupt.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there were some remains that were found hear a new housing development in Virginia."

"Deputy Director Cullen assigned you?"

"Yes." Brennan held out her hand for the case file, and got annoyed when Connor didn't hand it to her.

"The file?" she finally asked. Connor slowly brought it to her, smirking as she snatched it from his grip.

"Just so you know, it's not a good idea to annoy her," Angela said, her tone laced with amusement.

"I'm not worried."

"You should be," Angela replied, then turned back to Brennan. "Sweetie, I'll see you later." Temperance nodded as she perused the case information.

"Are the remains still at the site, or are they being sent here?"

"They're still at the site."

"Then I'll get my kit." She walked away without another word to Connor. The agent watched her walk away. Sully was right, he mused. She's a fire cracker, and a beautiful one at that.

Brennan rounded the corner before pulling out her cell phone. As the phone rang, she paced slowly.

"Booth."

"Seeley, I don't like him."

"Don't like who, babe?"

"Agent Gilroy. I don't like him."

"They sent Gilroy? Has he done anything to you?"

"Besides being creepy?" Brennan grimaced and rubbed her arms to get rid of the goose bumps.

"Bones," Booth sighed, "I realize you don't want to work with another agent, but what happened to the ass-kicking anthropologist that refused to be intimidated by anyone?"

"I'm not intimidated."

"Then why did you call me?" Brennan sighed and shifted her stance.

"You know I hate psychology."

"That's my girl. I'll see you this evening."

"All right, see you." She snapped the phone shut. Damn this flu, she thought. I don't feel good so this guy is getting to me. She took in a breath before walking to the examination platform. "Zack, we've got remains to retrieve."

XxXxX

The body was found just beyond that fence. There's been quite a bit of scavenging on the remains. Local PD thinks it was from a pack of dogs." Connor led Temperance and Zack toward the remains, ignoring the fact that Brennan stiffened when he placed his hand on her back.

"Agent Gilroy, I'd appreciate it if you'd not touch me," Brennan said as she stepped away from him. The smell of the remains began to manifest, and it made her stomach turn.

"I apologize. I wasn't aware it made you uncomfortable."

"You didn't ask if I was okay with it." Brennan looked up and swallowed, trying to resist the urge to retch.

"So, if I asked, would it be okay?"

"No, and I don't think my husband would appreciate it either. Zack, clear away those people. I don't want the remains compromised."

"Yes, Dr. Brennan." They trekked closer to the remains, Zack moving ahead to secure the site. Connor Gilroy turned back to Temperance.

"Shame you're married. I was hoping we might get to know each other a little better."

"Normally I'd agree if I didn't find you so personally distasteful." Brennan closed her eyes, willing her upset stomach away.

"Distasteful? That's a first. How distasteful are we talking?"

XxXxX

Booth stepped into Cullen's office, a report in hand. As he walked to the desk, he became aware of a rather foul stench.

"Sir, I have that report…what is that smell?" He held his hand up over his nose and mouth as he looked for the source of the smell. Agent Gilroy stood off to one side, his shoes covered in vomit.

"Dr. Brennan threw up on my shoes! I thought she was supposed to be a professional!"

"Wait, she did what?" Booth was laughing, but sobered slightly at a look from his boss.

"And that…woman is actually married. Whoever married her has to be crazy."

"I've been called that before," Booth said, highly amused. Connor Gilroy looked at Booth for a moment, thinking he was joking. When he realized that the senior agent was serious, he paled considerably.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's okay, I should have warned you that she has the flu, and taking her out to the field probably wasn't the best idea." Booth placed the report on Cullen's desk and left Agent Gilroy sputtering slightly. Once out of earshot, he pulled out his phone to call Brennan. Before she could say hello, he began to speak. "Okay, I know you didn't like the guy, but did you have to throw up on him?"

"That's not very funny."

"Oh, I beg to differ. How are you feeling, any better not that you got that out of your system?"

"No, and I've never understood how I can continue to purge when there's nothing remaining in my stomach."

"Have you tried to eat anything at all?"

"No, and even water's upsetting my stomach," she sighed.

"Well, if you're still feeling like this tomorrow, then go to the doctor."

"I don't need to be told when to see a doctor."

"I'm aware of that, but I'm just trying to look out for you."

"No, you're trying to assert your alpha-male tendencies over your female." Booth could hear the smile in Tempe's voice, and smiled himself.

"Oh, absolutely. I'll see you tonight, okay, babe?"

"Sure."

XxXxX

Temperance shuffled into her house, glad to finally be home. After Agent Gilroy left, she and her team had been able to concentrate on the remains. The time went by much faster than she had expected and she found herself leaving at ten in the evening. With a sigh, she set down her keys and bag. Booth glanced in at her from his spot on the couch.

"I was getting worried," he said as he got up to meet her. Tempe blew out a breath of air. Booth pulled her into his arms before kissing her temple.

"Sorry, I was a little caught up in the remains," she yawned and put her head on his shoulder.

"It's no wonder you keep getting sick with the late hours you put in."

"Hey, I didn't get sick before we got married," she said as she poked him in the side.

"Yeah, and you also weren't around kids." Booth kissed her on the lips when she looked up at him.

"You're going to get sick."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take."

"Oh, and how many other chances are you willing to take?"

"It depends. What are you proposing?" With a smile, she led him to the bedroom.

XxXxX

Booth woke to the sound of retching coming from the bathroom. He rubbed a hand down his face to wipe away the sleep.

"Temperance, I hope you're planning to stay here today."

"I can't. There's too much work to do with the remains."

"Will you at least do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Please go see a doctor?"

"Fine."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I'll meet you for lunch today."

"The diner?"

"Wherever you want. I'd just stay away from anything heavy." He heard her throw up again.

"I'm inclined to agree with you." Brennan came out of the bathroom after cleaning up the sick. She looked pale and tired, so unlike her usual fiery self.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay home? I doubt anyone would blame you."

"I'm sure."

"Okay, but I'm sure you'll feel better if you rest."

"Seeley, I'll be fine. I have work to do, and staying home won't get it done. If it will make you feel better, I'll see the doctor before I go in, okay?"

XxXxX

"Ah, Temperance, I didn't expect to see you so soon. What can I do for you?" Dr. Harrison, her physician asked as he stepped into the examination room.

"My stepson seems to have given me the stomach flu. I haven't stopped vomiting for two days. I'm also exhausted and achy."

"Well, let's take a look at you and see whether or not it's the flu."

"How could it not be the flu?"

"Temperance, I'm sure you're aware that many viruses have flu-like symptoms. I want to eliminate those possibilities, so we'll need a urine sample from you." The doctor smiled as he handed her a sample cup. "The rest room's just around the corner. With a groan, Tempe got up to do her doctor's bidding.

After a whole battery of tests and the usual physical checks, Dr. Harrison came back to the room with the results.

"Well, is it the flu?" Tempe asked after Dr. Harrison sat down.

"Are you currently on any birth control?"

"Yes, of course I am."

"Well, you're going to have to stop taking it."

"Why, am I having an allergic reaction to it?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"What do you mean in a manner of speaking? What's wrong with me?"

XxXxX

Booth walked through the halls of the Jeffersonian, intent on finding his wife for their lunch date. He made his way to the platform, glad his card still worked in the scanner.

"Seeley, to what do we owe this pleasure," Cam asked as he skipped up the steps.

"Just here to collect Bones. Where is she, by the way?"

"She hasn't come in yet. Her doctor's appointment went long," Angela said when she looked up from her work. Booth noted the look on her face. She knew something about the appointment.

"Did she happen to say why she didn't call me?"

"I wasn't aware she didn't call you, Booth."

"You're not telling me something. What is it?"

"I really think you'll want to wait for her to tell you about the appointment."

"She has something serious, and that's why she didn't call me." The sound of familiar, decisive steps echoed from the hall. Booth turned to look at Temperance. When their eyes met, she froze.

"Seeley, you're here already?"

"Yeah already. It's after noon."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware it was so late." She turned on her heel and headed to her office. Booth left the platform, following her. Once both were in her office, he shut the door and placed his hands on his hips.

"You wanna tell me what's going on, Bones?"

"I saw the doctor like you asked, and after the diagnosis, I thought it better to tell you in person."

"Temperance, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" Booth stepped up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Temperance sighed and looked up at her husband. He could see she looked exhausted and somewhat troubled.

"Seeley, I'm pregnant."


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Here you go. I was going to try and get through all of Christmas this chapter, but the need to get to work over ruled that desire. So, Christmas next chapter. And with that, I wish everyone a happy holiday season, and Merry-Happy-Ho ho.

"Wait, you're what?" Booth looked at Temperance for conformation of what he heard, and found her standing before him, one finger in his face.

"It's your fault I'm sick, do you hear me? It's your fault. Here I've been blaming Parker for two days and all along it was you!"

"Temperance…"

"No, I take it back, it is Parker's fault. If he hadn't given me strep throat, I wouldn't have taken antibiotics, which in turn messed up my birth control, and now this? Do you know what this means?"

"We're going to be parents?" The awe in his voice was unmistakable. Tempe's eyes welled up, and she began to cry, throwing herself into his arms. "Hey, hey, what's the matter sweetheart?"

"This is going to change everything. Our lives won't be the same now; everything's going to be different."

"It comes with the territory."

"I don't want to have kids, and now…how can you be so calm about this?" She looked up at him through reddened eyes. Booth just smiled and kissed her on the lips, drawing a confused look from Temperance.

"Bones, if being a parent is what scares you, then I wouldn't worry. You've been one since we got married, and you've been great at it. Parker loves you, and you're so good with him."

"But I nearly killed him with the apple juice."

"You did not. It just doesn't sit well with him, and I couldn't be happier."

"That apple juice doesn't sit well with him?"

"No, that we're going to be parents."

"So you weren't happy before?" Tears began to well up in her eyes again.

"What? Yes, of course I was."

"But that sentence implied that you weren't happy before. I couldn't be happier implies that you weren't as fulfilled earlier, and that something was missing. Just being together wasn't enough for you? Has life been so unfulfilled without the prospect of another child in our life? Have I made you that unhappy?" Booth looked down at Temperance, confused. One second, she's upset, the next, she's furious. "Does that mean you don't love me too?"

"Temperance Brennan, you listen to me. I've been in love with you for longer than you realize, and children or no, I've never been happier because you're in my life. Sure, I love the thought that we're having a child together, but I'd be just as happy if we weren't. Do you understand me?" She nodded before wiping away the tears from her eyes. "Good. Now what do you say we go out and tell the others before they go nuts trying to figure out what's going on."

"Angela already knows."

"Well then we can tell Zack, Hodgins and Camille. Come on." He took her hand and they exited the office. The eyes of the squints were on them as they scanned into the platform. Camille looked at the two of them curiously, while Angela beamed.

"Are the two of you ready to explain what's going on?"

"I'm…that is to say, Booth and I…"

"Bones is pregnant," Booth blurted out, a grin breaking across his face. The group looked at them, shocked at the news before congratulations began to circulate. Cam said nothing as Angela and the other members of the brain trust gushed over a very ill-at-ease Temperance, she just walked away.

XxXxX

"No, really mom, we're just going to stay here this year. Temperance isn't feeling all that well and I don't want to make her fly…no, really that's not…I'm sure everyone would love to see us, but…no, it's not necessary…mom…fine, we'll see you then." Booth hung up the phone, and looked over to Temperance, who was dozing on the couch, a book in her hand threatening to slip to the ground. She glanced up at him sleepily when he sighed.

"What's the matter?"

"It looks like we'll have a full house soon. Mom is insisting that everyone come down here since you aren't traveling."

"Seeley!"

"I'm sorry babe, but once she gets an idea in her head, she's like Angela." Brennan sat up slowly and sighed audibly.

"You know I don't know how to do Christmas! What are we going to do? How many people?"

"Well, mom and dad, Jared and his wife, their kids...only like seven people." He tried not to smile at the look of utter indignation on her face.

"Seven, but with you, me, and Parker, that's ten. Plus, you said you wanted to possibly invite Rebecca and Drew so you could see Parker all day…Seeley!"

"We'll be fine. I'm sure my mom won't mind helping with food, and everyone will be glad to see you." Temperance didn't respond. She simply glared at him before returning to her book.

XxXxX

Temperance made her way into the Jeffersonian the next day, as pallid as the past few. Though it had only been a few days, the morning sickness was wearing greatly on her. Morning sickness, that's a misnomer, more like all day sickness, she thought.

She scanned into the platform while putting on her lab coat, ready to start the work day and finish with the findings for Agent Gilroy. With a small stab of guilt, she realized she'd been very happy to not have seen him in the past couple of days. It would let her focus better.

"Bren, Cam wants to see you in her office as soon as you get the opportunity," Angela greeted while looking for facial matches to the victim in the FBI database.

"Good morning to you too. Did she say what she wanted?"

"No, but I'm willing to bet it has to do with the mini-Booth you're carrying."

"What possible reason could she have for needing to discuss that?"

"Who knows? So, did Booth totally ravish you last night after he found out?"

"No, but we did find out that his family is descending on us for Christmas. Would you mind going to the store with me later? I have absolutely no idea what encompasses a traditional meal for the holidays. I imagine it would vary from family to family…"

"Bren, you aren't going to over analyze Christmas dinner. We'll go after work. Now you'd better go see Cam before she goes on a rampage looking for you." With a sigh, Brennan nodded and headed into her boss's office. As she shut the door behind her, Cam motioned to a seat.

"Dr. Brennan, I'm glad to see you in on time today. How are you feeling?" There was tightness to Cam's demeanor that had Tempe immediately on edge.

"As well as can be expected. What is this about, Dr. Saroyan?"

"I'm sure you're aware that Agent Gilroy asked that all information is to be sent to the Hoover building after that little…incident in the field."

"No, I wasn't aware of that fact."

"After speaking with Deputy Director Cullen, he sends his congratulations by the way; we've decided that for the time being, you're to remain at the Jeffersonian. Any remains that need to be examined in the field will be looked over by Zack and myself."

"What? You can't do that!"

"Dr. Brennan, I realize that you enjoy working out in the field, but until you get your nausea under control, we can't risk having the remains compromised if you get sick. You're to remain here, and Zack will accompany the agents."

"No."

"You don't think he can't handle it?"

"Zack is incredibly bright, and I'm sure he'll do fine, but he's uncomfortable working directly with any agent other than Seeley. You know that."

"Yes, and this is the perfect opportunity to help him over that hurdle. He's doing much better in court as an expert witness, now he needs to interact with the real world."

"You're hindering my ability to do my job."

"I'm not. You know that if you were to become nauseous, that it could compromise the remains. I'm simply doing what's best for this team, and I suggest you do the same. That's all, Dr. Brennan." With one last look at Camille, Brennan stood and exited the office. She took in a deep breath to suppress the urge to hit something and went back to the platform.

XxXxX

"It isn't fair, Angela, not fair at all. I'm a professional; I know how to do my job." Brennan very angrily put biscuits into her shopping cart as Angela hefted an enormous turkey into the cart. "Are you sure you need one that big?"

"For twelve people? Yes, I'm sure you need one this big. Bren, I hate to say it, but I agree with Cam. And before you say anything, let me explain why. She isn't disputing that you are incapable of doing your job. You're going through a lot of changes, which you know, and you have no control over how you react to situations currently. There's no telling whether or not you could control the urge to vomit if confronted with any smell. My mom would throw up if she smelled leather furniture."

"I know you're right, Ange, it's just…I feel so…useless right now. I enjoy going out in the field, but that was taken away when Booth was pulled from any cases in which I could be involved, and now, I can't even go out to the site for remains recovery."

"I know, sweetie, it's difficult. But it's only for a short time, and then you'll be back out and about, right?" Brennan nodded, but the hang dog expression on her face made her look mildly pathetic. "That's better. Now come on, we still have more stuff to get."

"Like what?"

XxXxX

Temperance pulled into the driveway of her house, exhausted. She hadn't done much, and had even taken a nap mid-day while Dr. Saroyan was in meetings. She was surprised to see an unfamiliar car near the curb, but the surprise was short lived by the people coming out of the house.

"Tempe, dear, it's so good to see you again," Stella Booth proclaimed as she raced down and enveloped Brennan in a hug.

"How are you…mom?" The word still sounded strange to Tempe. Though she would have preferred to refer to Booth's mother by her name, Stella insisted on being called mom.

"Wonderful, if not a little tired after that long drive. Joe, help her with the groceries." Joe Booth grumbled his way to the car and began to pull bag after bag out of the small trunk. "And how are you?"

"Tired, but the doctor said that should pass soon. It's just with so many changes going on…"

"Changes?"

"Seeley didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what dear?" From the doorway of the house, Booth could hear the excited squeal come from his mother before Temperance was wrapped in another hug. He watched the scene with a grin. This was going to be one memorable Christmas.


	4. Chapter 4

December 24th

"So, when are you due," asked Michelle Booth as she balanced her one year old on her hip. Temperance set down a potato peeler and looked up. The smell of the cooking food was making her stomach turn.

"About mid-August, I think."

"Oh you poor thing, you've got to go through that last trimester in the heat of summer, and I thought it was bad enough in winter, what with the swollen ankles, mood swings, and all. And don't get me started on labor. Seventy two hours with this one, isn't that right, Riley. Yes it is. Back pain the entire time, and let me tell you, there's nothing worse than back labor. Nothing."

"That's so enlightening, Michelle, really." Tempe closed her eyes trying to will the upset feeling in her stomach away. It would do no good to throw up on the freshly peeled potatoes.

"Not to mention all of the side effects from the hormones. Why poor Jared, I don't know how he lived with me. He'd get up to go to the bathroom and I'd start to cry. Then the food cravings hit and with that comes heartburn, and you can't sleep at all." Brennan looked out to the living room, trying to catch Booth's attention without Michelle seeing her. Seeley noticed the look on her face, but only mouthed, 'You'll be fine'. Tempe looked at him exasperatedly before looking back at Michelle.

"I'm sure it's an interesting experience."

"It's worth it in the end. Without it, I wouldn't have little Riley here, no I wouldn't. She's momma's little girl, yes she is." The baby cooed at the attention. Temperance rolled her eyes a little before turning back to the potatoes. She picked up a knife and began paring them for mashed potatoes. "So was this planned?"

"No, actually we weren't planning to have kids at all."

"What? How could you not want children. My life wasn't complete without my little angel here."

"I can imagine."

"You'll know what I mean once you hold that baby in your arms for the first time. Of course, I've wanted kids for years, so when I found out I was pregnant, it made me so happy. I can't imagine how it must be not wanting one. How could you not want a child?"

"Look, I like children, I really do. I just didn't want to have any of my own. There's too much violence in this world, and too much unpredictability to make it a safe environment for children."

"Well that's just silly. Stay away from bad neighborhoods and you'll be fine. Besides, it's not like you're going to be bringing in any dangerous elements like foster kids, right?" Brennan looked at Michelle, her lips tightening and her nostrils flaring. She set down the knife in her hand for fear she'd try to use it.

"So just because someone's in the foster system, they're automatically a danger to society, is that it?" Booth looked over from the other room when he heard the words come out of his wife's mouth. As Temperance closed the distance between Michelle and herself, Seeley excused himself and made his way towards the kitchen.

"With all the trouble that those kids cause, how could you see it any other way? Our neighbors growing up had a foster kid, and even though they showered him with attention, he was a petty thief and stole from everyone in the neighborhood. Everyone was relieved when he was finally arrested. The neighborhood was better for it."

"And I suppose that no one took the time to find out if he might be having trouble of his own as opposed to assuming he was just a bad kid?"

"God, why are you so touchy about this? I'm sure if you'd been around him, you'd feel the same way."

"Michelle, Temperance was in the foster system," Booth said when he reached the two women. Tempe looked at him thankfully before leaving the kitchen. She needed to get away from her sister-in-law or else risk punching her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize…"

"Next time find a little more out about someone before you give your opinion. I hope you and my mom can finish up on your own in here."

"Um, yeah, of course. Gosh Seeley, I'm really sorry."

"Save it Michelle. I'm not the one you need to apologize to." With that, Booth went in search of his wife. He found her laying on their bed with her eyes closed. Seeley shut the door and made his way to lay down next to her. "Sweetheart, are you going to be okay?"

"I'm tired, Seeley."

"Then why don't you try to get a little bit of sleep and I'll wake you up before we have to leave for Mass. You're still going with us tonight, right?"

"I said I would." She raised herself up onto her elbows and looked at Booth with weary eyes. Booth leaned over from his position next to her and kissed her on the lips. He moved one hand over to caress her abdomen, knowing that in a few months it would begin to be rounded as the fetus grew. Brennan's eyes met his, and for a long moment, neither one spoke.

"You're beautiful, Temperance."

"You're not half bad yourself," she smiled in return.

"Get some rest and I'll come get you in a couple of hours, okay?"

"Sure." Booth kissed her one more time before leaving her alone. With a small smile, she laid back and closed her eyes. Perhaps a nap would do her some good.

XxXxX

"The winter solstice was celebrated in Rome on the twenty fifth of December, because in that part of the world, that is when the solstice hit. The masses celebrated Saturnalia, which was an orge of revelry to the god, Saturn. The Roman elite however, did not join in on the revelry. Instead, they chose the much more somber celebration of the birth of Mithra, the embodiment of the sun. In the middle east, a new religious sect was beginning to take hold in the Empire, and chose the twenty fifth as the logical day to celebrate the feast day of the Christ child. What better way to celebrate the feast day of the Risen Son, when it was already the feast day of the Risen Sun." The show, 'A History of Christmas' played on the television as the Booths hurried the children off to bed. Parker and his cousins were reluctant to go.

"But Santa should be here soon, and I want to see him," Parker whined. Joe Booth looked down at his grand son with a stern expression on his face.

"Santa isn't going to show up is he knows that you're awake. He only comes when you're asleep. If you want your presents from Santa, then you need to go to bed." From outside came the sounds of sleigh bells. Parke and his two cousins looked at each other and squealed.

"It sounds like Santa's on his way now. You kids had better hurry up and get to bed," Stella added, watching as the three little kids scrambled to get to Parker's room. Once the kids were out of ear shot, Temperance looked at Joe and shook her head.

"Don't you feel bad lying to them like that?"

"Not at all."

"Why not? I'd think it would be a good practice not to lie to your children." Tempe's own thoughts flew briefly back to her own family and the subsequent abandonment at age fifteen. She didn't let the thoughts linger, however. There was too much going on currently to get caught up in the past.

"Because Santa will be here as soon as those little rascals are in bed."

"I don't understand." The front door of the house opened and Jared stepped in from the snow. He had a string of sleigh bells in his hand.

"Booth family tradition," Jared stated. He hung up his coat and headed toward the stairs, stowing the bells in the hall closet. "Well, I'm off to bed. I'm sure I'll see you all bright and early. Jennifer and Ethan never sleep in on Christmas day."

"We'll join you," said Stella. She turned to Temperance and smiled. "Dear, you might want to stay up and help Santa with the gifts." With that, Temperance was left alone by her in-laws. What did they mean by a Booth family tradition, she wondered. It certainly wasn't anything that Seeley had explained to her. Speaking of Seeley, where had he disappeared to? A noise in the hallway drew her attention. Cautiously, she stepped over to see if she could spot the source of the sound.

"Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas," came a booming, deep voice from behind her. Brennan jumped slightly and turned around. There, standing near the Christmas tree was a very handsome Santa Claus, with rugged features and warm, chocolate eyes.

"Well hello there, Santa," Temperance said, highly amused. The sound from the hallway forgotten as she looked at Booth decked out in full Santa regalia.

"Tell me young lady, have you been naughty or nice this year?" The gleam in his eye was unmistakable.

"I don't know, you might want to ask my husband."

"Is that so? Well, I think I know what he'd say," Booth said as he pulled her into his arms.

"And what's that?"

"I think he'd say you've been quite naughty." He kissed her on the lips, trying to fight off the smile building in his expression.

"Does that mean I won't get anything for Christmas?"

"Oh, I think I can find something to stuff your stocking with." Temperance smacked him in the arm playfully. There was a sound in the hallway once more, but when Tempe broke away again to investigate, there was again nothing there. With a shrug, she turned back to the living room. Booth began to take packages out of a large red velvet bag.

"Wow, you really go all out for this, don't you?"

"Of course. How else are you supposed to get presents from Santa?" Booth winked at her as he placed the last gift under the tree. "Why don't you head to bed. I'll be there shortly. I'm pretty sure Parker's going to be up early tomorrow."

"Sure, and are you still interested in showing me your stocking stuffer?" Seeley looked at Temperance in amazement before laughing.

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

XxXxX

Christmas morning dawned clear and bright, with sunlight reflecting brightly off of the snow-covered ground. The adults all dragged themselves downstairs behind the enthusiastic children. Temperance sat on the ground next to Parker, willing her stomach to settle down some more, and was shocked when her stepson got up and moved away from her. She looked over at Booth, who simply shrugged.

Joe Booth played 'Santa' as they passed around presents. He reached under the tree and pulled out one for Parker.

"This one's from Santa," he said. Parker looked at the gift and burst into tears.

"I don't want any from Santa."

"What? Why not?" Booth asked. The little boy looked at him through tear-reddened eyes.

"Because, and I don't want any from Tempe either."

"Parker, that's not a very nice thing to say. Now what's wrong?"

"I wanted to see Santa last night, so I hid on the stairs and saw him kissing Tempe. Only you're supposed to kiss Tempe, daddy." The little boy began to cry harder, not understanding why Temperance turned such a bright red, nor why all the other adults began to laugh. Didn't they think it was wrong for Tempe to kiss Santa Claus?


	5. Chapter 5

Temperance sat in her car, tears of anger rolling down her cheeks. She was on her way over to Angela's needing somewhere to stay, and someone to talk to. She wasn't sure when things had gone sour, but tonight was the culmination of it. Tonight she and Seeley had a blow up and now she found herself with a suitcase packed and on her way to her best friend's apartment. She supposed everything began on Christmas night after everyone had eaten and she was cleaning up with Michelle's help.

"_So Tempe, have you done anything to find out the sex yet?" Michelle handed a clean, wet dish to Temperance, who was on drying duty._

"_We won't be able to find out what we're having until around the eighteenth week. I still don't know that I want to know. Women have been giving birth for millennia without the aid of modern technology and were perfectly fine with not wanting to know what they were having."_

"_You can't honestly tell me that you aren't a little bit curious?"_

"_Of course I'm curious, but that doesn't mean I have to know."_

"_Well then it won't hurt to try a little something now would it?" Michelle grinned before taking off her necklace. _

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I need your wedding ring."_

"_Why?" Temperance looked at her suspiciously. Michelle just laughed slightly._

"_Because silly, if you hold the ring on a chain over your belly you can tell what you're going to have by the way it swings."_

"_But I don't want to know, and there is no scientific proof to back it up."_

"_You want something that you can prove? Okay, then do you have any draino?"_

"_Draino?"_

"_Yes. If you spit in draino, it'll have a different reation depending on whether or not you're having a boy or a girl."_

"_But I told you, I don't want to find out what I'm having," Brennan said, her voice beginning to rise. Booth came into the kitchen and looked between the two women._

"_What's going on?"_

"_Tempe doesn't want to find out what she's going to have."_

"_Okay, why is that a problem?"_

"_She wants me to spit in Draino."_

"_And you're not going to…why?"_

"_Why? It's stupid. There's no evidence to show that these things work, and it's stupid to try and do them thinking it will give you a definitive result." Her voice was getting louder. _

"_Are you saying I'm stupid, Tempe?" Michelle turned to her indignantly. She threw down the dish she'd been washing, not caring if it shattered or not. In the other room, Riley, the baby woke with a start. Stella, Joe and the others looked up at the argument, surprised._

"_Not at all. It's just illogical to do something which has no scientific fact to back it up. You can't tell sex from spinning a ring over someone." Temperance crossed her arms and faced off with Michelle. Both of them were quickly raising their voices and were on the verge of yelling as the baby began to cry. Michelle turned to look at her young daughter, then spoke again to Brennan._

"_Now look, you made Riley cry."_

"_Michelle, just calm down and take care of Riley. Leave Temperance alone. If she doesn't want to try those old wives things, then don't make her," Stella said as she made her way over. Michelle threw one more dirty look over at Tempe before stomping of\ver to pick up her daughter._

Temperance swiped at her eyes. Later that night, she'd had a huge fight with Booth in regards to the incident and it took them two days to apologize. That hadn't been the only incident they'd had. When finally getting to her doctor's appointment, they discovered they'd been doubly blessed. Tempe had freaked out a little, though Booth got over the initial shock pretty quickly and couldn't understand why she was so upset.

She turned onto Angela's street and heaved a sigh. She needed to stop crying. He was the one who told her to leave after all. At that thought, tears welled in her eyes once more. They'd been so happy, and everything had been falling apart recently. One of the last fights they'd had was over something so stupid, and yet it had seemed worth the effort at the time.

"_Seeley, I'm hungry," she'd said, rubbing her hand over her growing stomach. Booth looked from the television to his wife._

"_What do you want, buttered popcorn and mayonnaise, broccoli and maple syrup, or maybe banana cream pie and pickles," he teased. She hit his arm playfully but shook her head._

"_No, I just want some Boston Market spinach dip."_

"_Well, that shouldn't be too hard to dig up," he winked before getting up to find her the spinach dip she was so desiring. He was gone for almost an hour, and when he came back, that's when the trouble started. When he got back to the house, he'd handed over the spinach dip. She'd taken one look at it and frowned._

"_This isn't what I wanted."_

"_You said you wanted spinach dip."_

"_No, I said I wanted it from Boston Market."_

"_What's the big deal? Dip is dip."_

"_It is not! This isn't the same thing at all!" With that, she threw the dip across the room. The container sprung open, spilling its contents all over the wall and floor. Booth looked at the mess, his mouth open in shock._

"_I hope you know you're cleaning that up," he'd said to her. She looked at him petulantly._

"_Well you're the one who screwed up, Booth. I'm not cleaning up what you couldn't get right."_

"_What I couldn't get right? Well excuse me Bones. I got to Boston Market four minutes after they closed, and tried to get them to get me some dip for you, but they refused. So being the good husband I am, I decided to still try and find you some god damned spinach dip, which I certainly didn't expect you to fling at the wall."_

"_Maybe you should have driven there faster," she yelled and stormed from the room._

With a last sniffle Temperance took a deep breath and grabbed the suitcase she had thrown together. She climbed from the car, hoping that her eyes were not as red as she feared they were. Slowly she walked up to Angela's apartment. She needed a place to stay in the short term, and didn't want to stay in a hotel for that time.

As she stood on her best friend's doorstep, she took in another deep breath. Angela had never denied her help and this was the only place she would want to go right now. With resolve, she knocked on her best friend's door. It took a minute before she heard the muffled footsteps from inside the apartment. After another moment, the door opened, and Angela gasped at the site of her best friend.

"Sweetie, what happened?" Angela took her friend by the arm and pulled her inside. She led her to a couch and sat her down.

"Booth…he…"

"He what?"

"He told me to leave." Brennan burst into tears again, wishing that this wasn't so hard for her. Angela said nothing, just stared in shock at her best friend's words.

"Okay, I think there has to be some mistake. What exactly did he say?"

"He said, 'Get out. I don't want you here'. He doesn't want me anymore."

"Bren, does this have anything to do with what happened today with Agent Jameson?" At that, Temperance nodded. "All right, how about this. Why don't you tell me what happened when Booth found out about the incident."

_Temperance got home after a long day in the field. The case was turning out to be a disaster. She'd been on the way to interview a suspect with her new partner, Agent Tyler Jameson, when said suspect caught site of them he began to run. She and Tyler got out of the car to take chase. Doing as Booth had taught her, she ran opposite of Jameson to head off the suspect. As she rounded a corner, she found herself grabbed by the arm and a knife at her throat. That's when Jameson caught up to them._

"_Drop your gun," the suspect hissed at the FBI agent. Jameson looked from the suspect to Temperance. She didn't look scared to him, in fact, she looked downright annoyed._

"_I can't do that," Jameson replied, his gun aimed steadily at the man. With his attention diverted, Tempe elbowed the man in the stomach before turning to hit him in the face._

"Booth came home furious. He wanted to know how I could do something so 'monumentally stupid' I believe was his exact phrasing."

"Well…"

"I told him he was overreacting, and that he was undermining my intelligence. What was I supposed to do, I asked, while he held me there. If he was distracted by Agent Jameson, then I could act because his attention would be off of me."

"Sweetie…"

"He told me that I never should have gotten out of the car in the first place, that Jameson should have been after the suspect on his own. I said that I was there as his partner, so why wouldn't I get involved."

"Did you ever think…"

"He said that by getting involved I was putting not only myself, but the lives of our children in danger. He wanted to know how I couldn't think of them before doing something so stupid. I told him that it didn't matter because I had never wanted children to begin with."

"Sweetie, you didn't."

"He looked like I'd slapped him, but I was just being honest. I've said for years that I didn't want children. He asked why I had even bothered to marry him in the first place, because I hadn't wanted to get married either."

"And what did you say?"

"I told him that it was just a spur of the moment decision and I wasn't sure why I decided to begin with. I said that marriage was archaic and the only thing it had done was wreak havoc in our lives. If we weren't married then none of the past few months would have happened. That's when he told me to get out." Brennan finished with an exhausted sigh. Her eyes were tearing again, though she was trying desperately not to cry.

"Oh, Bren…"

"So I was wondering if I could stay with you for a few days while I look for somewhere to live."

"Of course you can stay, but I want you to do something for me."

"What's that?"

"You need to have a chat with Booth about this whole thing. It sounds to me like he just needed some space to cool down."

"He kicked me out. I am not talking to him."

"You'll need to, and I can only hope that you'll do it soon."

"Why should I?"

"Because he's in the right here, Sweetie. You never should have gotten out of that car."

"Are you going to be against me too, Ange?"

"I'm not against you in any way. I just think you made a mistake and took Booth's concern out of proportion. Come on, let's get to bed, and you'll probably have a much clearer head in the morning." Angela led her friend to a spare bedroom before leaving her alone. She only hoped her friend would come to her senses soon before she lost her husband for good.


	6. Chapter 6

Booth stared up at the ceiling, unable to get his mind to quiet down. Temperance had been gone for a week, and he'd yet to hear from her. He'd called her several times a day, wanting to talk things through, but she refused to answer. Booth had, however, spoken with Angela. He still winced as he thought back to their first conversation.

_"Booth." _

_"What the hell were you thinking, kicking your pregnant wife to the curb?" _

_"I didn't kick her out, what are you talking about?" _

_"Oh, so telling her to get out wasn't telling her to leave?" _

_"I never…" _

_"You know, I never would have thought you'd be the type to do that. She came over here in tears, and she still hasn't stopped crying." _

_"Angela…" _

_"No, I don't want to hear it Booth. Get your head out of your ass and get your wife back." _

_"Angela, can I talk please?" _

_"What." _

_"I didn't tell her to get out. I told her I needed to get out, you know, clear my head. With both of us so angry, I couldn't be there with her. She ran upstairs and I got in my SUV and took off." He ran a hand through his hair, waiting for her to respond. "Angela?" _

_Booth, I'll see if I can get her to call you. I've already told her to do it, but we'll see what I can do." _

_"Thanks Angela." _

While it was nice to know that Angela was on his side, it was frustrating that his wife was being so stubborn. With a sigh, he glanced at the clock. Four in the morning. Knowing there was no way he would be getting any sleep, he got out of bed. Looks like another early day for me, he thought as he made his way to the shower.

XxXxX

"Sweetie, just talk to him. I know he's called you," Angela said from her spot on Brennan's couch. The pair had been to the lab early every morning since Temperance had arrived on the artist's doorstep.

"Ange, no. Besides, I've already sent him everything I needed to say." Temperance pulled on her lab coat and left the office with Angela on her heels.

"What did you send, an e-mail? That's a little impersonal." The two women scanned onto the examination platform of the Medico-Legal lab.

"No, it wasn't an e-mail." She chose not to elaborate on her answer, and instead set to work on the latest remains from bone storage. Angela knew she wasn't going to get an answer from her friend, and let the subject for the time being. She'd find out soon enough what Brennan had done, and she had the feeling it wasn't going to be pretty.

XxXxX

Booth stalked out of Cullen's office, bristling for a good fight. He'd been pulled in to be informed of the latest in the string of Jeffersonian liaisons. Special Agent Tim Sullivan, newly returned to the area after a year in the Caribbean would be taking the position. Booth had been too stunned to say anything to the man. Instead, he could feel the blood drain from his face, and he'd had to grab hold of a chair to steady himself.

As he got back to his office, he slammed a fist into the wall, hoping to relieve some of his frustration. How dare Sully show up when he and Temperance were on the outs? It could put a kink into everything. He made his way to his desk and sat down, not noticing at first the Fed-Ex envelope on his desk. Booth picked up the envelope and opened it. He wasn't expecting a package of any sort.

"What the hell?" He looked at the papers in his hand in disgust. "If she thinks I'm going to sign these, she's wrong." Booth stood and stormed from his office, divorce papers in hand. If she thought she could play dirty, then he'd have to put his foot down.

XxXxX

Tim Sullivan stepped into the Medico-Legal lab of the Jeffersonian for the first time in over a year. There was only one person he was interested in seeing, his sort of girlfriend, Temperance Brennan. Sure, she hadn't gone with him to the Caribbean, but she was extremely focused on her job. He hoped however, that they could get together again, and pick up where they left off.

He saw her on the examination platform. The glass ceiling allowed sunlight to stream down onto the scientists below. Temperance's hair glowed like fire in the sunlight and the blue material of her lab coat shone like sapphires. God, she was beautiful. He pulled his access card from his pocket, hoping it still worked. He scanned the card, smiling as it beeped. Slowly he climbed onto the platform and leaned against the railing, wondering how long exactly it would take for her to notice him.

"Hello Tempe," he finally said, watching her freeze before turning around. As she did, Sully's eyes widened. "When did that happen?" Temperance's hand flew to her stomach.

"Four months ago," she said, rubbing her abdomen.

"I thought you didn't want…"

"I didn't, but this was somewhat unexpected."

"Well let me offer congratulations then." Sully stepped forward and hugged Tempe. She stiffened for a moment before relaxing and hugging him back.

"Hew sweetie, I finished that…Oh. My. God." Angela stopped in her tracks as she stared at the sight before her. Brennan pulled back from Sully slightly to look at her best friend.

"Ange…"

"Does Booth know about this?"

"Wait," Sully started, "why would it matter what Booth…"

"Get your hands off of my wife!" The outraged below filled the lab, and all eyes turned to see one very angry Special Agent Seeley Booth storm through the lab. Sully stepped away from Temperance, his eyes wide. He'd never seen Booth this angry before. "She might have signed the papers, but I haven't, so she's off limits. You got that?" Angela rushed over to Booth, grabbing hold of him to slow his progress. The last thing she wanted to happen was a fight to break out between the FBI agents.

"What do you want, Booth?" Temperance stood on the platform with her arms crossed across her chest.

"In your office, now," he said through clenched teeth as he pointed to the room in question.

"Booth, I've got a case for…" Sully started, but was cut off by Seeley.

"I really don't give a shit right now. I'm not leaving until I talk with my wife." Booth never once took his eyes off of Temperance. She glared back, then finally relented and brushed past him on her way to her office. Booth followed her, slamming the door behind him. As the glass rattled, Tempe stiffened, expecting it to break.

"What do you want?" She turned on him.

"What right do you think you have sending me these," Booth yelled as he waved the papers around in the air.

"I have every right to send them to you. This," she gestured between them, "obviously isn't working."

"What the hell are you talking about? Is living with me that bad?"

"Living with you? You're the one who kicked me out. You told me to get out, that you didn't want to see me."

"Is that what you think I said?" Booth sighed, an edge of defeat to his voice.

"Of course you said it. It's obvious how you feel. I don't know why you're so angry. We've obviously been growing apart the last couple of months. All we do anymore is fight." Booth strode over to her and grabbed her arms. He wanted so badly to shake some sense into her.

"You think you know how I feel? Is this what you think, or is it something else?" With that, he crushed his lips onto hers, pouring all his emotions into the action. Involuntarily, Brennan wrapped her arms around Booth, responding to the kiss. The action was short lived however, as Booth pulled away from her. "Think on that, Temperance, and know one thing. I am not signing these papers. There are other ways to deal with marital problems. I refuse to let you take the easy way out on this." On that note, he left the office. Temperance held one hand out and opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Angela popped her head in the door, concern etched onto her face.

"I don't understand…"

"What don't you understand? Bren, that man loves you. What kind of reaction did you think you were going to get from him when you sent over divorce papers?"

"But he wanted us apart, didn't he? He's the one who asked me to leave." The uncertainty was in her voice as she stared sightlessly in the direction Booth had gone in.


	7. Chapter 7

"Tempe, are you even listening to me?" Sully glanced over at Temperance as they drove to the remains site. She was staring out the window, watching the scenery go by. She turned to look at him once she realized he'd asked her a question.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"It doesn't matter. Did what happened earlier bother you?"

"Do you mean what happened with Booth?"

"Yes."

"I don't know. We had a huge fight not too long ago, and I was certain that he told me to leave, but now I'm not sure."

"Why did you marry him? I was under the impression that you don't believe in marriage."

"I'm not sure really. We were in Las Vegas for a case, he asked me, and I said yes. By the end of the weekend, we were married."

"Are you sure it wasn't some rebound thing?"

"I don't know what that means."

"Well, you couldn't have gotten involved too long after I left. Are you sure that you didn't start dating him because he was there?"

"We didn't date."

"What?" Sully looked at her incredulously.

"Our first date was in Las Vegas, and during dinner, he proposed."

"Tempe, that's totally a rebound thing. When is your anniversary?"

"It's in two weeks."

"So you waited two weeks after I left before getting hitched in Vegas to someone else. Did you even think that through?"

"No."

"Did you have any feelings for me at all?"

"How can you even ask that? You know I did."

"You never said you loved me."

"I can't say that I really understood what that meant back then," Temperance sighed. She knew now, but what she thought about the emotion was in a sort of flux.

"Look, you obviously don't want to be married, or you wouldn't have sent Booth divorce papers. I came back because I can't see my life without you in it. I haven't stopped loving you, and all I ask is for another chance."

"Sully…"

"Maybe it will put things into perspective." He reached over and patted her leg. She moved her leg away from his grasp.

"Despite the papers, I am still married."

"I'm not asking you to sleep with me or anything, just give me another chance."

"Let me think about it."

"Of course. Take however much time you need." He turned his attention back to the road, and Temperance moved farther away on her seat. She looked back out the window thinking over what Sully said.

XxXxX

"Sully wants me to have dinner with him tomorrow," Temperance sighed as she slumped onto Angela's couch.

"What? Why?"

"Something about me being on the rebound when I married Booth."

"Of all the low down, dirty things…"

"How is he wrong? Booth and I literally got together two weeks after Sully left me. How do I know he isn't right?" Brennan stood and began to pace. It was a habit she'd picked up from Booth long before. Angela let out a sigh and looked at her best friend.

"First of all, we all know you didn't go with Sully because of Booth."

"That's not true. Dr. Wyatt said…"

"I know what he said; I'm just surprised you bought it. Bren, you're smart. I know you can figure this out without me spelling everything out for you."

"Spelling what out? You told me to go with him. You told me I needed to get out and experience life. Now you're telling me I made the right decision by staying? What is wrong with you?"

"Bren, knock it off. I'm trying to help you, and you know that. Look, you and Booth, you just work. You didn't hesitate at all with him, but with Sully, you were always trying to pull away from him. And personally, in my opinion, if he loved you enough, he wouldn't have tried to force you from what you love."

"What are you talking about?"

"You love what you do. To you, it isn't a burden. You're giving answers to families that didn't have them before. He wanted you to give that up to be with him."

"I'm sure that he felt that if he could leave, then so could I."

"Ah, but the difference is that he didn't love his job. He was always looking for something else. Booth on the other hand, knows about your love, and he's never tried to take that from you."

"If he loves me so much…"

"He didn't kick you out. I've talked to the man, okay? You misheard him, sweetie. He's been trying to explain all week, and you refuse to speak to him." Angela watched as Temperance seemed to deflate. She sat on an overstuffed chair and ran her hands over her face.

"I've made a huge mess of things, haven't I?"

"Yes, you have."

"But what if Sully is right?"

"Look, I know I can't stop you if you choose to join Sully for dinner, but just know this. If you do, you will be unfaithful towards your husband."

"Angela, I'm not planning on having sex or even kissing him."

"Regardless, you'll be seeing another man behind his back, and that's being unfaithful."

"Fine, then I'll let Booth know I'm meeting my FBI partner for dinner." Angela looked at Brennan and shook her head.

"I can see I'm not getting through to you. Do what you want, it's your life, but I think you're making a big mistake." With that, the artist stood and left the room for her bed. Temperance watched her friend retreat and leaned back in her seat. There was so much being thrown at her at the moment, she didn't know what to think. With a sigh, she pulled herself from the chair and made her way to the guest bedroom. She'd make her decision in the morning and deal with whatever consequences came up then.

XxXxX

Booth looked up at the light knock on his office door. Standing to the side of the open doorway was his wife. She looked like she was thinking hard on something, almost as if she didn't realize she was there.

"What do you want Temperance?" Brennan looked up at him, coming back to herself when he spoke. She stepped into the office and closed the door behind her.

"Are we a rebound?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it's just that Sully said he thought I married you because you were there."

"Bones, look…I've had strong feelings about you for a long time, and I'm still amazed that you reciprocated. Now though I've been wondering if you had the wool pulled over my eyes." Brennan looked at him for a long time trying to process what he said. She took in his appearance, the dark circles under his eyes, the loosened tie, and the single button undone. Obviously he'd lost sleep the night before.

"I reciprocated, Booth. I did. Now though, I don't know what to think. Everything is so confusing to me."

"What are you confused about? You either love me or you don't. If you do, then we can work through our problems, maybe see Gordon." Temperance opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't form the words. Instead, she walked over to him and kissed him almost hesitantly. Booth brought up a hand to cup her face, his fingers caressing her skin gently. As they pulled apart, Temperance placed her forehead against his, neither speaking for a moment.

"Give me a little time to sort this out, please," she whispered. Her lips tingled where they'd been in contact with his.

"I don't want to lose you Temperance, I love you too much." He leaned forward and captured her lips again. She didn't hesitate to respond, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her hands in his hair.

"The ultrasound is in two weeks," she said as they broke the kiss. "I want you to be there."

"Two weeks, that's our anniversary."

"Yes, it is."

"So after the appointment, we'll go to dinner. How about that?"

"I think I can do that." She kissed him lightly once more before moving away. When she reached the doorway, he called out to her once more.

"Temperance, when are you coming home?"

"Soon. I just need a little more time, to sort out some things, okay?"

"Okay. You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah, I know."


	8. Chapter 8

Temperance entered the restaurant hesitantly. She needed to get the meeting over with so she could focus on repairing her marriage. With a sigh, she stepped out onto the candle lit patio, scanning the small tables for Sully. Why did he have to pick a French restaurant near the Hoover Building? She continued her scan until she finally spotted him. Taking in a deep breath, she made her way over to the table.

"Tempe, I didn't think you were coming," Sully said as he rose from his seat. He made his way across the table to pull out a chair for her.

"I apologize, but I was held up at the lab."

"It's fine. I'd wait forever for you," he said pushing in the chair as she sat. Temperance frowned at the clichéd line. Had he been that way before he left, or was this an attempt to impress her? It was strange he'd decided on a French restaurant. Her mind floated back to that dinner with Booth almost a year earlier.

_Temperance took a sip of wine as she looked around the opulent restaurant. Heavy brocade fabrics hung like a canopy from the ceiling and Persian rugs adorned the floor. Candles flickered on the table, creating an intimate feel in the open atmosphere of the seating arrangement. As Tempe set down her wine glass, she looked up at Seeley to find him smiling at her._

"_What?"_

"_You're just so beautiful." She smiled at him, a light blush coloring her cheeks. Seeley reached across the table and took her hand in his. He rubbed slow circles across its surface with his thumb. "Did you know that Elizabeth Taylor ate here the day it opened?'_

"_She was so good in Cleopatra."_

"_It's such a great love story."_

"_I don't know that there was love involved. Cleopatra was a strong, independent woman. She ruled a kingdom, and could have ruled the known world."_

"_But she still needed the support from Mark Antony. They loved each other, and you have to factor that in."_

"_I don't know. I think that her love for him was her downfall."_

"_I don't see it that way at all. Let's look at the facts here. There was Cleopatra, strong, intelligent, beautiful…"_

"_Actually, that's a myth. She really wasn't that attractive."_

"_Fine. She could hold her own in conversation. She ruled a country by herself, but was essentially alone, using sex as a means of power or recreation, am I correct?"_

"_Yes. She is the epitome of what a modern woman is, someone who didn't need or want a support base. She could handle situations on her own, without outside interference. In fact it was Rome that turned her world upside down."_

"_And in her drive for power, she didn't realize how alone she really was. She had only her advisors to speak with, but it wasn't like she could share her desires or fears with them. That's a lonely life to have Temperance."_

"_But falling in love led to her downfall. She lost control. She had a child with Julius Caesar, and he was murdered, leaving her essentially alone. She had to deal with life by herself. That's why she was strong."_

"_Ah, but Mark Antony was in love with her, and she loved him in return. He wasn't looking to be a co-ruler of the world. He was powerful in his own right, but he chose love over personal ambition. He chose to support the woman he loved."_

"_And where did that lead him? He self-destructed, and Cleopatra couldn't live with that knowledge. She couldn't handle the fact that someone else she loved had left her, and she killed herself when she heard he was dead."_

"_Mark Antony always offered her his full support. He was captivated by her intelligence, her independence. He fell in love with her. He married her, not to have her as property, but because he wanted nothing more than to remain at her side for the rest of his life."_

"_Is that why he did it?"_

"_I think so. He would have given his life if he felt it would protect hers, and only killed himself because he'd heard that Cleopatra was already dead. Had he known she was still alive, he would have fought tooth and nail to keep her safe."_

"_Would he have removed evidence that could have gotten her into trouble for something that she didn't do? Would he have done everything in his power to protect her from being accused of a crime she didn't commit?"_

"_He'd risk everything for her." Their eyes locked. "And what about you? Would you do the same? Would you protect him, or would you run? Would you offer him the same love that he felt, or would you try to suppress those feelings because it was the safer option?" Temperance held his gaze for a long time, and the two just sat, staring into each other's eyes, trying to get a feel for what the other was thinking. When she spoke again, it was quietly._

"_If I were Cleopatra, I would appreciate that he made me feel less alone in the world, and that he could take so much weight off of my shoulders. I would offer him all of me if he would accept everything that entails."_

"_He would accept you without hesitation."_

"_And what about the fact that I don't want children. I mean, he already had progeny. I would assume he'd want more."_

"_Who says he would? If it happens, it happens, if not, then it's something he could live with."_

"_In that case, I would be willing to offer all of myself."_

"_Would you marry him?" _

Temperance looked up at Sully's eager face and sighed. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought. "I can't stay very long…"

"I took the liberty of ordering a great red wine for us."

"Sully, I can't have any alcohol, you know that."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I have to say, you look really beautiful tonight." He reached across the table and took her hand in his. Temperance forced herself to not jerk her hand away. The differences between Sully and Booth were becoming quite obvious to her.

"Thank you. Look Sully, we have to talk. I know you said I should give you a chance…"

"Because I know how perfect we were together. Tempe, do you remember what I said about touch? When you imagine the other person is with you when they're not there it's not a fling. When you can feel their touch long after they're gone, that's not a fling. What we have is much more than that, and you know it."

"What we had ended a year ago. Things have changed since then." Temperance looked down at the table and closed her eyes. In the background, she could hear the soft strains of the song, 'At Last' playing. She smiled softly and twirled the ring gracing her left hand. She could still feel the warmth of the Las Vegas sun beating down on her, the sky ablaze with color as Seeley stood at the altar waiting for her. She could see the love, pride and joy radiating from him. There was no doubt he was the one for her. He was her rock, the one person who could always keep her grounded in the real world instead of hidden away with her bones. Staying with Booth was the right decision; she just needed to tell that to Sully.

XxXxX

On the street, Seeley Booth walked along, trying to sort through his earlier conversation with Temperance. She said she needed more time, but time for what? She couldn't possibly love Sully. If she'd been in love with him, she would have left with him. From a nearby restaurant, he could hear the gentle strains of the song 'At Last'. He smiled, remembering how the song seemed to just burst forth as they kissed for the first time as man and wife. He remembered the absolute look of love that was on her face then. It was an expression he'd never forget.

Booth looked up toward the restaurant and stopped in his tracks. There was Brennan sitting across from Sully with that look on her face. He felt his chest tighten and his breathing became shallow. He must have completely misread his wife. She'd told him she was coming home soon, but there she was, looking with love at Sully. Apparently this was the answer she'd worked out for herself. With a resolute sigh, he headed for the restaurant. This triangle needed to be taken care of immediately.

XxXxX

"The only thing that's changed for me is the depth of my feelings for you Tempe."

"What?" Temperance snapped out of her reverie and looked up at Sully.

"I am deeply in love with you Temperance. I know what we had was real and I just want to explore that with you again."

"Sully…"

"I can see the two of you have some important things to discuss, so I'll be brief." Both Temperance and Sully looked up at Booth, who was standing over them.

"Booth, what are you doing here," Sully asked, pulling his hand off of Brennan's. Ignoring Sully, Booth looked down at Temperance, a deep sadness filling his eyes.

"If this is what makes you happy, then I don't want to stand in your way. I just want you to know, you win." With that, he pulled out the folded divorce papers from his jacket pocket and signed them. He placed the papers next to her and took off his ring, looking at it for a long moment. Booth took Temperance's hand in his, slipped the ring onto her middle finger and kissed her palm. "Good luck in your new life, Temperance." With that, he walked out. Brennan stood, clutching the edge of the table as a feeling of light headedness overcame her.

"Seeley," she called out, but he was already gone. She looked at the ring in her hand, her grandfather's ring.

"Tempe, don't you see, this is a sign. We're meant to be together. Even Booth knows it." Brennan looked at Sully as a rage began to build inside of her.

"You rat bastard! Do you honestly think that I would get involved with someone else while I'm married and carrying my husband's children? The only reason I came here tonight was to let you know we would be work partners only, but you wouldn't let me get in a word."

"You can't do this Tempe, we're in love."

"I might have cared about you at one time, but I never loved you." Sully reached across the table and grabbed her arm.

"You can't leave me." With her free hand, Temperance picked up hi wine glass and threw the contents in his face. As he sputtered and let go of her arm, she grabbed the papers on the table top and stormed out of the restaurant.

XxXxX

Midnight found Brennan at Angela's. She was alternately crying and seething about the night's events. After leaving the restaurant, she'd checked everywhere for Booth, often missing him by minutes. She'd checked Wong Foo's, the Royal Diner, his gym, and even drove the half hour to their house, but she couldn't find him anywhere. Angela, for her part was trying to calm down her friend, but was having little success. That's when the phone rang. Brennan tearfully picked up her cell phone, but didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, is this Bones?"

"Who is this?"

"Name's Manny. I've got a man here goes by the name of Booth. He's causing some problems and needs someone to collect he ass. He told us to talk to his bones. Took us a while to realize he meant a person."

"I'll be right down. Where are you located?" Temperance took down the address and hung up before turning to Angela. "I'm going to kill him."

"Well, I say ravish him first. Drunken sex is the best, plus he won't remember anything so you can still kill him in the morning."

"At the rate he's going today, he'll be lucky if he 'gets any' any time soon. I'll see you later." With that she was off. It didn't take long to find the bar, or to spot the very conspicuous SUV parked out front. Why do people always choose the seediest place they can find to get drunk, she mused as she opened the door. Brennan gagged as she entered the bar, the smell of smoke and stale beer nearly overwhelmed her. From a distant corner, she could hear the crack of pool cues meeting balls, and a television broadcasting sports news. She scanned the place and her eyes settled on a once bulky and slightly bald man behind the bar. _That must be Manny._

"Okay, where is he," she asked. Manny looked over at her, his brows arching in surprise.

"He's over there, passed out in one of the booths. You gonna need help getting' him outta here?" The bartender's eyes drifted down to her enlarging belly.

"Yeah, I think I will," she said, heading over to her husband. She shook her head in disgust, noting the rather large pool of drool his face was resting in.

"Oy, Joey, Vinnie, take that bum to the lady's car." Two men stepped from the shadowy pool corner, one of them sported a black eye.

"Sure thing Manny." The two men made their way to Booth, and roughly hauled him up. He briefly opened his eyes, looking at the two men, confused.

"You're outta here Fed." As they dragged him out, he passed out again.

"That your car," Vinnie asked as Brennan disarmed her little convertible.

"Yes it is."

"It's gonna be hard putting him in there."

"I don't care how you do it; just get him in the car."

"Okay." The two men practically folded Booth into a pretzel, hitting his head against the door. Brennan thanked them before driving off. When she got to her home, she got out of the car and set the alarm, leaving Booth inside. If he had been dumb enough to drink himself into a stupor, then he could pay for it when he woke up.

_AN: So how do you think this should be handled in the morning? I'm up for suggestions._


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: Okay, so I don't know if I'm entirely happy with this chapter, but it needed to be out there so I could get to the next part. I hope you like it, but please let me know whether good, bad, or indifferent._

Booth woke up to a splitting headache and the sun shining onto his face. He blinked against the harsh light, trying to get his bearings as he became painfully aware of the stiffness in his neck. What was he doing in a car? Oh, please tell me I didn't drive anywhere. No, I couldn't have, I'm in the passenger seat. He tried to remember what had occurred the night before, hoping it would bring him some enlightenment. He remembered seeing Temperance and Sully together at that French restaurant, signing the papers, then finding a bar. After that, everything was a blur. Great, he thought, I drank myself into a stupor.

He ran a hand over his face, undid his seatbelt and opened the car door. As the alarm began to blare, he covered his ears and swore. He looked at the car, then at the house. "Shit. Temperance must have picked me up," he groaned as he shuffled to the front door. How would she have known where to find him? He reached into his pocket to pull out his keys, sucking in a breath as his knuckles brushed across the material of his pants. He looked at his hand and shook his head. His hand was bruised, as though he'd been in a fight. What did happen the night before?

Booth let himself into the house, not sure what to think of the silence. He didn't know if Temperance was awake or asleep. A quick glance toward the kitchen confirmed the answer.

"Hey," she said quietly from the kitchen table. She had dark rings under her eyes as if she hadn't slept all night. She stood and headed into the kitchen to get herself a cup of tea. She looked back at the table, on which sat two pills and a glass of water. Booth looked at her warily. This wasn't what he was expecting from her.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he took the medication and sat down.

"I feel I need to apologize, and at the very least explain what happened yesterday."

"I know exactly what happened yesterday. You played me. You got my hopes up that you were coming home, and then went to a romantic dinner with Sully."

"That is not what happened. I should have told you I was meeting with him, but only to inform him that I'm not interested in him. You however chose to jump to conclusions and thought the worst of me."

"Well in that I suppose we're even." Booth ran a hand over his face and sighed.

"I suppose we are. So what do you want to do now? Do you really want a divorce?"

"You know I don't."

"Then why did you sign?"

"Because I thought it's what you wanted. If being with someone else would make you happy, then I wasn't going to stand in your way, even if it killed me to do so." Brennan looked at Booth, trying to measure his sincerity. At the look in his eyes, she reached across the table and laced her fingers through his.

"You would give up your family just like that? I would have thought you would fight harder."

"I wanted to, but ultimately your happiness is what I was thinking of." Temperance stood and moved around the table. She placed both of her hands on his face, and held his gaze with her own.

"Seeley, being with you is what makes me happy. I'm sorry I flew off the handle about my last case. I was being reckless, I know. I just don't like that there are restrictions on my ability to do my job."

"Just please think before you act. You have two other people to think about now." He leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers. "I love you so much, Temperance. I would hate to lose you over recklessness. I don't think I could bear it."

"You're not going to lose me, you know, so long as you fight for me in future." She smiled at him a little, and he let out a relieved chuckle.

"Okay, but you know that sounds an awful like you enjoy my protective nature."

"What can I say; your alpha-male tendencies have grown on me." She kissed him on the lips and pulled him to his feet.

"I'm not the only one who seems to struggle with power issues. You locked me in your car. That's not a very nice thing to do to someone when they're drunk."

"I couldn't very well drag you into the house in my current state, and I thought…"

"…That I would learn my lesson when the alarm went off."

"Okay, that too. Now you'd better hurry up and get cleaned up or you'll be late for work."

"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me. I feel terrible."

"Well, you play you pay," she shrugged, and then offered him a brief kiss on the cheek. "Now go, please?" Seeley nodded, heading to the master suite to shower.

He felt better after showering and shaving, though he was still a bit fuzzy. After dressing for work, he made his way back downstairs, adjusting his gun holster before pulling on his suit jacket.

"Bones, are you ready to go?"

"I'm just waiting on you," she called out from the family room. As Booth rounded the corner into the room, he noticed something on his wife's arm.

"Hey, what happened there?" He pointed to the bruise on her wrist. Brennan looked at the blemish curiously, and then cursed under her breath.

"Sully," she muttered before pulling on her own jacket. Booth frowned and strode over to her, taking her arm gently in his hand. He touched the mark gently, his brow furrowed as he looked at it. "Seeley, don't you dare threaten him over this."

"What happened Temperance?"

"When I was leaving last night, he grabbed my arm to stop me…" She looked at the rage building in her husband's face. "I'm serious, don't threaten him. I'll take care of it myself."

"Someone hurts my wife and I'm supposed to just do nothing? No, I can't do that. He hurt you."

"I am asking you to let me take care of this, please." Brennan looked him in the eyes, trying to get an idea of his thoughts.

"I'm not making any promises, Temperance."

"Seeley…"

"No, I'm not giving any more than that." The two looked at each other, neither one wanting to give in. Finally, Brennan sighed.

"We're going to be late if we don't leave now."

"Okay, then we need to go."

"Okay." Brennan nodded and headed from the house, followed closely by Booth.

After dropping Booth off at his SUV, Brennan made her way to the lab, concerned only with the phone call she had to make. She bypassed Angela, knowing her friend would wonder what had happened the night before, and stepped into her office. She had to make this call before she did anything else. After the line rang a few times, it was finally picked up.

"Cullen."

"Yes, Cullen it's Dr. Brennan."

"Dr. Brennan, what can I do for you?"

"I need to request that Agent Sullivan be removed from the case."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry but I can't continue to work with him."

"Any particular reason why? You seemed to work well with him the last time."

"Let's just put it at personal reasons and leave it at that."

"I can't pull him from the case, but if you feel this strongly about it, then why don't you just send your results via courier."

"Thank you sir. I'll do that." The call ended, she put her hands to her face. The worst was done. With a sigh, she stood and made her way to the platform. She and her team needed to finish up with the analysis so their end of the case was over.

Cullen looked at his phone for a long time, wondering what was really going on between Dr. Brennan and Agent Sullivan. As far as he knew, the last time they worked together, they had gotten along just fine. Curious, he decided there was only one person he could get all the answers from. He made his way down the hall and stopped in his tracks at the scene before him. Both had Sully pinned up against the wall, his forearm digging into the other agent's throat.

"Booth, Sullivan, what the hell is going on here," Cullen roared as he pulled Booth off of the other agent.

"Why don't you ask him," Booth snarled in response, glaring at the other agent. Sully looked completely perplexed. Cullen grabbed the two men by the arms, feeling very much like the parent of two teenagers, and pushed them into Booth's office. He shut the door behind them before returning his attention to the two agents.

"Look, I am about this far away from issuing disciplinary action to both of you. Now someone had better give me an answer right now."

"Maybe you should ask Agent Sullivan about the bruises he left on My Wife!" Booth's voice rose with each word until he was shouting at the end. Cullen looked at him for a moment, and then nodded.

"I'd wondered what happened when I spoke to Dr. Brennan. Sullivan, I'll speak to you in my office." Sully nodded, still not speaking and left the office. Before he followed, Cullen turned back to Booth. "Is Dr. Brennan at work today?"

"Yes sir."

"Do you know if she wants to press charges?"

"She didn't say anything to me about it, so honestly I'm not sure. She said she wanted to handle it on her own."

"You have a very interesting way of obeying, Agent Booth. Now get to work."

XxXxX

When Brennan saw Deputy Director Cullen make his way into the lab, she was curious as to why he was there. She had the feeling that it had to do with her working with Sully, but didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Dr. Brennan, may I speak to you alone?" The tone of his voice had Brennan a little worried. This couldn't be about Booth, could it?

"Of course." She left the platform and led the Deputy Director to her office, closing the door behind them. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to know if you were planning to press charges against Agent Sullivan for assault."

"Booth told you?" At Cullen's nod, she sighed. "No, I'm not planning to, but I don't want to have any contact with him, as I said earlier."

"That won't be a problem. All information regarding this case will go through me at this point."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Dr. Brennan." Sam Cullen turned to leave her office, but stopped when she placed a hand on his arm.

"Booth didn't…do anything to Sully, did he?"

"No, no harm done." He offered her a quick smile and turned again. He reached the door this time before she spoke.

"How many more agents do we have to go through before Booth is reassigned here?"

"It's not my decision Dr. Brennan. That came from higher up."

"He knows how we work, and despite what was said at that trial, you know as well as I do that we were never unprofessional."

"I realize that, and I certainly know your track record on cases."

"Then why did it become an issue? We had all the evidence. The jury decided he was innocent, but we had all the evidence."

"I know, and for the record, I didn't want to split you up. I'll expect an update on the case in the next few days, Dr. Brennan."

"We'll have it tomorrow." With a quick nod, he left the building. Temperance sighed and sat down at her desk. She knew that something had to have happened for Cullen to have made his way down here. She just didn't expect him to be protecting her husband from her. It made her smile.

XxXxX

Brennan was home before Booth that evening, and had dinner waiting by the time he made it through the door. He was taken immediately by the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen.

"Hey Bones, you know you didn't have to make anything, right?" She popped her head out from the kitchen and smiled at him.

"Well, I feel the need to apologize for my behavior last week. None of the other events would have happened if I'd been paying more attention to what you said." Booth looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"Are you sure you're in the right house? Last I checked, my wife, whom I love to death didn't go to extravagant lengths to apologize."

"It was a rather large problem, and the words just don't seem to be enough, so I thought I'd make something special."

"Oh? I can think of another way to make up, you know."

"We can get to that later. Sit down. I'll have dinner ready in a minute. Oh, and you forgot something this morning."

"Did I? And what was that?"

"It's on the table." Curious, Booth walked to the kitchen table and grinned. The wedding ring he'd returned to her was on his placemat. He slipped it onto his finger and walked into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around Temperance's waist.

"So we're good?"

"Yes. Oh, and Seeley?"

"Yeah babe?"

"Please try not to inflict bodily harm on someone the next time I ask you not to?"

"Cullen told you about that?"

"No, but I deduced as much when we spoke. It really was quite sweet of him to try and protect you from your wife."

"Well, I'm sure he was just trying to protect his agent."

"Oh, I'm sure that's it." She grinned and gave him a kiss before shooing him over to the table. It felt nice for things to be on equal footing once again. Hopefully this time it could stay that way.


	10. Chapter 10

_AN: Okay this is for two reasons. I felt that it was time to give the pair a break and let something good happen. So this is a pretty fluffy chapter, so I hope y'all like it. Also I want to see how many people actually read this so I'm going to put in a mention about what happened to me today. I met TJ Thyne while he was buying a circular bed at IKEA today. If anyone is curious…he wears tighty whities. Now with that out of the way…I hope you enjoy this chapter._

"Okay Temperance, I need you to lay back here. I'll be putting some gel onto your stomach and we'll get started." The ultrasound tech smiled at Brennan before squirting warm gel onto her abdomen. Booth held tightly to Brennan's hand as the ultrasound wand was placed onto the gel and moved around. They both watched the scene in awe as body parts flashed in and out of view. "You're aware you're having twins, correct?"

"Yeah, we know," Booth said, slightly choked up. Brennan smiled up at him, her eyes tearing up a bit.

"Is this your first pregnancy?"

"This is my first, yeah," commented Temperance as she returned her gaze to the screen.

"Well congratulations obviously. Have you two been married long," the attendant asked as she continued the examination.

"One year today," Booth replied, not wanting to think about how close they'd come to not making it. When he felt Temperance squeeze his hand, he knew she'd known what he was thinking.

"You two didn't fool around, did you."

"Actually, that would be what got us in this position in the first place." The attendant laughed and hit a few buttons on the machine before turning back to the expectant parents.

"Okay, moment of truth. Do you want to find out the sex of the babies?" Booth opened his mouth to answer, but Brennan beat him to it.

"Yes, we would." Seeley looked at her, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I thought you didn't want to know."

"Happy anniversary," she grinned. Booth's eyes welled and he leaned down, kissing Temperance. The attendant moved the wand around, looking for the revealing bits of anatomy.

"It's hard to tell with multiples, but these two are in opposite directions, so it should make things easier providing they cooperate."

"Just what we'd need, two kids as stubborn as their mother."

"I'm not the only stubborn one Seeley Booth."

"Okay, let's see…" the attendant began, grinning at the bickering pair. "…looks like we have a little girl and…a little boy. Wow, I couldn't have planned that better myself, getting it done in one fell swoop."

"I always was an overachiever," Brennan joked. The tech wiped down Brennan's stomach.

"Well, you're all set to go. Here are some pictures I took during the ultrasound, and the bathroom's right outside if you need to use it. Again, congratulations."

On the way back from the hospital, Temperance regarded Booth quietly. He wore a goofy grin on his face as he talked to his parents on the phone.

"Yeah, a boy and a girl! I know, we're halfway through. I'll let her know. I love you too mom. Bye." He snapped shut the cell phone and glanced at Brennan. She reached over and gave a squeeze to his leg as he turned back to the road.

"How are your parents?"

"Good. Mom's excited and she wants to be here when the twins are born to help us out."

"You know, scientists theorize that part of what shaped human evolution was the family structure in which the older female relatives helped care for the young. Anthropologically speaking, those close family bonds help to form the child's perception of society."

"I'm going to guess that's your way of saying you'd welcome the help."

"Yes, Booth. I'd welcome the help."

"Have you mentioned any of this to your father?"

"No. I haven't spoken to him since he was acquitted."

"Don't you think he deserves to know about his grandkids?"

"I don't want them to be hurt by him if he disappears again. He's stayed away because I want him to."

"Temperance, he wants to be a part of your life. You know that. Give him a chance, sweetheart." Brennan looked at him once more before turning to stare out the window. She didn't know if she was comfortable with the thought of talking to her father about this. As much as they'd made progress with their relationship while he was in prison, she wasn't fully amenable to welcoming him as a permanent fixture in her life.

They got back to their home shortly thereafter, and as they reached the front door, they both knew something was amiss. While the front door was closed, it was unlocked. Neither of the pair ever left the house without locking the door. Booth stepped in front of his wife and entered the house, his gun drawn. Brennan stayed close behind him, and as they rounded into the dining room, a voice made them both jump.

"Happy Anniversary."

"Max, that so was not cool." Booth holstered his gun and looked at the older man. "Just because you were acquitted for murder but that doesn't mean you can just break and enter a house."

"You wouldn't accuse your own parents of breaking and entering would you? Come now Agent Booth, this is no way to treat your father-in-law."

"What do you want, dad?" Brennan crossed her arms as she appeared from behind Booth. Max's eyes roved down to her belly, and back up to his daughter's face.

"I was just here to wish you a happy anniversary, but there seems to be more going on than I was aware of. How far along are you?"

"Twenty weeks." Brennan looked away from her father to Booth. He motioned that he was going in the other room to give her some time with her father.

"And do you…"

"A boy and girl."

"Two? Well, this is an even bigger surprise." Max smiled at her, but there was a sadness behind his eyes. Brennan felt a stab of guilt about leaving her father out of her life for much of the past year.

"I'm sorry I haven't told you sooner."

"You've been busy I'm sure. Is everything else okay honey?"

"Yeah, it's been good. We had a bit of a rocky time, but it's worked through."

"You'll call me if you need, right?"

"Sure dad." She offered him a tight smile and hugged him as he approached.

"Booth's not the only one who looks out for you, you know."

"I know. I just prefer his methods."

"I'll just let the two of you get back to your day. I just wanted to have the chance to see you. I got you a little something, and I hope you like it." He pulled out a small box from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. Curiously, she opened it, staring at the object inside.

"It's beautiful." She pulled the locket from inside the box and popped it open. When she saw what was inside, she let out a snort of amusement. "A picture of you and Seeley?"

"Of course. You deserve to carry around the two men that mean the most in your life don't you, honey?"

"Thanks dad." She gave him another hug as she clutched onto the locket.

"I love you baby."

"I love you too, dad."

XxXxX

Temperance woke up slowly, her senses trying to take in the comforting sounds around her. Booth had his arms wrapped around her tummy as he murmured into it. Without letting him know she was awake, she listened as he continued on.

"…I see a smiling face, a fireplace, a cozy room. A little nest that's nestled where the roses bloom. Just Tempe and me, and the baby makes three. We're happy in my blue heaven."

"You know that's not technically correct as there are two of them," Brennan couldn't resist saying. Seeley looked up at her grinning before planting a kiss on her belly.

"Hush woman, I'm singing to them one at a time." He moved up on the bed until they were level and kissed her on the lips.

"So the fact that they can hear you but not understand the words is what you're going for?" She grinned at him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Exactly," he grinned. Booth maneuvered Brennan until she was straddling him. He ran his hands over her belly and hips as he ran his gaze over her. "You are so beautiful."

"I don't feel that way. I can't see my feet anymore."

"Well, I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and I still can't believe how lucky I am to have you to myself." Seeley ran a hand up her side until it was buried in her silky hair. He guided her mouth down to his in a sensual kiss as he continued to trace over her enlarged belly. When they broke the kiss, she smiled down at him.

"And I'm as lucky to have you here." She ran her hands over his chest as she looked down at him. "You know, I've been thinking about something."

"When aren't you thinking about something?"

"Funny. No, I was thinking about the whole naming process."

"Naming process?"

"Yes. I mean every culture has their own traditions regarding the naming of offspring."

"What's there to think about? You pick a name you like, and then use it."

"Well, for example, in Nigeria the family gives the child an Oraku."

"What exactly is that?"

"An Oraku is a name signifying the conditions surrounding the birth. For example, the name Hasana means the first of twins. They also use and Oriki which is what the parents wish for the child."

"We aren't exactly Nigerian are we Bones."

"No, we aren't."

"So where are we going with this?"

"I just wondered if you'd thought about what you'd want to name the twins." Booth looked at Temperance thoughtfully before answering her.

"I've always liked the name Abigail."

"It's fitting I suppose. Do you know what it means?"

"No, can't say that I do."

"It means father's joy." Booth smiled up at Temperance.

"Then I think it's incredibly appropriate, don't you?" With that, he kissed her again, and as the kiss deepened, they quickly forgot about names and only concentrated on what was between them. At that moment nothing existed but the two of them.


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: Okay, here's the next chapter as promised. I mentioned before that this story was going to get angsty, so please be prepared. I'm trying to create what could be a real situation and be realistic about it, so let me know what you think, okay? Oh yeah, and just a note…I don't mind a negative review so long as the criticism is constructive. There has been someone out there reviewing anonymously and negatively, but nothing helpful is ever said. If you honestly think that I don't have the character's down correctly, or if you feel it's too cliché, I would prefer that you point out specific examples. Thanks._

"Bones, hey Bones," Booth hollered as he swiped his card and bounded up the examination platform at the Jeffersonian. Temperance turned to look at him, smiling slightly at his enthusiasm for whatever he had to tell her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her, pausing before he let her go as the babies moved.

"Well, something has you excited."

"We have a case." He grinned and waved the file in the air. Her eyes widened and her grin became a full blown smile. It had been two months since the problem with Sully and Cullen finally relented, letting Booth back on with the team.

"Are we going out to the site?" She was practically bouncing in anticipation.

"Not with you twenty eight weeks pregnant. The remains are being brought here. They were discovered inside a storm cellar in Virginia. The forensics team that was sent in is sending all samples recovered at the scene here along with the remains, so your team will have everything at their disposal."

"Do we have time for lunch to celebrate?"

"I wish sweetheart, but I have to head out to a warehouse. Apparently a suspect I've been looking for has holed up in there. I need to get over there to apprehend him."

"Well, be careful and call me when you're done."

"Of course." Booth kissed her again before leaving the platform. Before he left the building, he turned around to speak again. "And please take it easy yourself. You know your doctor said you've been working too hard."

"I'll be fine Booth. I'll see you this evening." She shook her head, smiling as he sauntered out of the building. Angela made her way up the platform, looking in the direction Booth had just left.

"What was Booth doing here?"

"He was here to tell us about the new case we have."

"We? He's been reassigned here?"

"Yes." Brennan was beaming.

"Well that's great to hear. You two didn't go to celebrate?"

"He has another case to finish up. The remains should be here in a little bit. Do you want to grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure. If your man can't join you, then I can. Come on." Angela led Brennan off the platform and to her office so she could get her belongings.

"Shouldn't we tell Cam we're going out?"

"Already taken care of hon. Now, let's go grab some food." The two ladies left the lab, Brennan all smiles at being able to work with her husband once again.

At the diner, they shared small talk while they ate, discussing work among other things. Angela would occasionally glance over Brennan's shoulder at the television on the wall. The news was showing some type of a situation in DC, but couldn't hear what was going on.

"So have you two gotten anything for those babies yet? They're going to need a lot of stuff you know."

"We haven't yet. We still have twelve weeks until they're due."

"Have you at least come up with names?"

"I think we've settled on Abigail for the girl, but we're still fighting over the boy's name."

"Fighting?"

"Not so much fighting as discussing. He likes Cole, and I like Xavier. We haven't decided what to use yet." Brennan grasped at a fry and ate it as she glanced again at the television screen. There was something about it that was unsettling her.

"Then why don't you use both? Just because you don't have a middle name doesn't mean that baby can't."

"True I suppose…What's wrong Ange?" Brennan dropped the rest of her fry on the plate and kept her gaze fixed on her best friend. The artist's face had gone ashen as she glanced back up at the television.

"Booth, he's there." She pointed at the screen and the escalating hostage crisis it was showing. Seeley Booth could be seen prominently barking orders by FBI vans at the scene of the hostage situation.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He knows what he's doing."

"How are you not worrying about this?" Angela looked at her friend, surprised.

"He has a high-risk job and if I let myself worry every moment we aren't together, I'd be a wreck. Nothing is going to happen to him while he's there." They both glanced at the television and watched as the suspect came out of the warehouse, his hands over his head as his hostage raced out ahead of him. "See, what did I say?"

"You amaze me, and somehow I can't help but think that hormones are affecting you in weird ways."

"What? He did his job well long before we were working together, so I have no doubts that he knows how to do it now." Angela just shook her head and pulled out some money for lunch. She would have been a wreck if Hodgins had been in any type of dangerous situation, although Brennan did have a point. Booth did have a dangerous job and they both had to be reconciled to that fact.

"Come on Sweetie. Let's get back to the lab."

When they arrived at the lab, the remains had arrived. Zack and Hodgins were already at work with Cam supervising. Angela went directly up to the platform to see if they had anything for her yet, and Brennan went to her office. She had to check some of her e-mails before helping with the remains. Zack could handle the examination until then.

She answered the various requests there, and then turned off her computer as she stood to get her lab coat. She had long since not been able to button the thing, but just couldn't bring herself to not wear it. As she slipped it on, her cell phone began to ring.

"Brennan," she said as she answered the phone.

"Dr. Brennan, it's Cullen."

"What can I do for you sir?"

"I'm just calling regarding Agent Booth." The deputy director's voice sounded tight as if he were trying to remain calm.

"He's not being pulled off of the case is he?"

"No, that's not what this call is about."

"Then what…" As she listened to his words, Brennan began to hyperventilate, her head feeling too light, and as she fell to the ground unconscious, she struck the corner of her desk.

"Dr. Brennan? Dr. Brennan, are you okay? Dr. Brennan?" Cullen looked at his phone for a moment before hanging it up. He didn't like the news he'd had to deliver, but now his worry had switched to that of his agent's wife. The line hadn't died, of that he was sure. There was only one thing he could do now. Quickly he picked up the receiver and dialed another number. Someone needed to take care of the forensic anthropologist.

Back at the Jeffersonian, Cam overlooked the progress of her team as her phone rang. As she answered and listened to the caller, she glanced over to Brennan's office. She couldn't see the anthropologist there, and in combination with what she was hearing, that couldn't be good.

"Thank you sir," she said as she hung up the phone. She glanced at Angela, calling the artist over carefully. "Angela, could you please go check on Dr. Brennan. I'm worried something's happened to her."

"How could it? She's just been in her office."

"Please Angela."

"Okay." The artist looked at her boss, a little concerned. She hurried down the stairs and toward Brennan's office. As she stepped into the doorway, she gasped loudly. Running forward, she dropped to her knees at Temperance's side. As she moved her friend onto her back, she noticed the blood. "Oh my god, someone call 911!"

XxXxX

"We're going to get her stabilized, and then we'll check her over for the bleeding. I'm sure it's not as severe as it looks. I just want to make sure that the babies will be fine." The doctor looked at Angela, who had accompanied Brennan to the hospital. Brennan had yet to regain consciousness, but at the moment, it was probably a good thing.

"You'll let me know what's going on?"

"Are you her family?"

"I'm her friend. It's currently complicated. Please." The doctor looked at the worried expression on the artist's face.

"Normally it would just be family, but I'll see what I can do." With that, the doctor left the waiting room. Angela sat down in a chair heavily, and began to cry. Booth should be here, and as of yet, she wasn't sure why he wasn't. Please let everything be okay, she thought, waiting still for some word or someone else to show up.

The doctor rushed into the room with his patient. A nurse looked up at him as he came in.

"Doctor, the bleeding hasn't slowed any."

"Well, let's get the ultrasound taken care of and see if we can spot the problem, shall we?" The doctor prepped Brennan, squirting the warmed gel onto her belly. He got the wand and ran it over her stomach, looking for the source of the blood. As he looked over the images on the screen, he frowned. "We need to get her into the OR stat. She has complete placental abruption. We have to get those babies out immediately. Get her prepped and we'll begin."


	12. Chapter 12

_AN: Okay, so I'm not entirely thrilled with this chapter, but it answers a lot of questions y'all had from the last chapter. Pleas remember that if Brennan seems out of character at all…she's still wracked with hormones. There'll be more later…not sure when. I go in to be induced next week, so if I get a chance to update before then, I will. Otherwise my updates are gonna slow down considerably with a new baby in the house_.

Angela paced the waiting room at the hospital, waiting on any word about Brennan. Finding her on the floor of her office with all that blood had been one of the scariest of her life. Oh please, she thought, just let Bren be okay. She was trying desperately to stop the tears from falling, but it was a lost battle. No one else from the Jeffersonian was there, and she had no idea what was going on with Booth. Why hadn't they heard anything from him after that arrest? Something was definitely wrong for him to have not returned any calls.

The door leading into the waiting room swung open, and Angela looked up hoping to see the doctor. The person standing there was not who she expected.

"Max, how did you…"

"I keep an eye out for her. Do you know what happened?" He looked haggard and as worried as Angela was. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed deeply.

"No, I don't. I went in to check on her and found her on the ground. Something happened, but I don't know what."

"And you haven't heard from the doctor at all?"

"No. I've been waiting on word, but so far there's been nothing."

"I'm sure she'll be okay. She's a fighter, you know that."

"I know, but there was so much… I'm so worried." Angela held back a worried sob, and was surprised when Max wrapped his arms around her to offer some comfort. She didn't pull away, and instead the dam broke. Tears flowed down her cheeks and sobs wracked her frame. Max simply held her and rubbed small circles on her back, trying to help her calm back down. Soon the sobs became no more than hiccups, and Angela felt slightly embarrassed to have cried all over Max.

"Angela, I'm going to go grab a cup of coffee or something, would you like anything?"

"No, that's okay, but thank you." Max nodded and headed toward the door. As he opened it, he ran into a large, balding man in a suit.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't," the man began until he saw who he bumped into. His gaze flittered through the room until it came to rest on Angela. "Miss Montenegro, are you here because of Agent Booth?" Angela looked up, surprised to see Deputy Director Cullen there.

"No, I'm here waiting on news about Brennan. Oh God, please tell me there's nothing wrong with Booth? Was he shot? He's not dead is he? Something went wrong at that arrest earlier."

"Agent Booth finished with the arrest without incident, but as he was leaving the scene and heading to his vehicle, he was struck by a car." Angela put her hand to her mouth, here eyes widening.

"Is he…"

"He's in surgery right now. I notified Dr. Brennan when I received the news, but the line seemed to have died."

"She fainted, or something. I went to check on her and she had collapsed on the floor." The artist visibly paled, as did Max.

"Has Booth's family been notified," Max asked, finally over the initial shock of the announcement.

"Yes, I called them after speaking to Dr. Brennan and Dr. Saroyan. They're on their way right now." Max nodded, but said nothing. He'd only met the Booth's once, and the circumstances had been odd to say the least, but they seemed to be good people.

"I was on my way out. I'll leave you two alone, but if you need anything, please call me."

"Yes, of course, thank you." The pair looked at each other and sat down, despondent over the news. If their concern about Temperance had been high, this was off the charts. They both knew the pair really couldn't live without the other and with both of them hurt; it was too much to think about. As Cullen left the waiting room, a doctor stepped in the room, looking for Angela.

"Ms. Montenegro, you accompanied Dr. Brennan here?"

"Yes, I did." Angela stood, her eyes wide with fear at what his expressionless face could mean.

"I have news about your friend's condition."

XxXxX

Temperance woke slowly to the beeping of monitors. She felt terrible and her abdomen ached. She kept her eyes shut as she tried to remember what it was that caused her to be here in the first place. She'd been on the phone with Cullen… her eyes flew open as she remembered the call. Booth! Something was wrong with Booth. As she moved to sit up, she gasped at the pain in her abdomen. Frowning, she placed her hand there, surprised to find it soft instead of the hard bump it had been before.

A nurse walked into the room to check on her, smiling softly at the anthropologist.

"I see you're finally awake. We were getting a little nervous there."

"What happened," Temperance croaked, her throat dry. The nurse handed her a cup of water and checked over her vitals.

"I'll get the doctor and he'll be able to tell you everything." The nurse gave her another small smile and left the room. Brennan thought over her situation. Something had happened to her…she fainted. That's what it was. She turned her head as the door to her room opened once more.

"Ah, Dr. Brennan, so glad to see you're up. I'll bet you're wondering what happened."

"To put it lightly. Why…did I lose them?" She indicated her softer and much less round tummy.

"We did an examination, and had to perform an emergency c-section. The placenta had separated from the uterine wall due to your fall."

"Are they okay?"

"So far, yes. They were rushed to NICU and are under observation right now."

"When can I see them?"

"Once we feel you've stabilized a bit more, then we'll take you down there. For now though you need to get some rest." Brennan nodded as the doctor left the room. She closed her eyes, weary, until she heard another light knock on the door. Slowly she cracked her eyes open and gave a small smile to her best friend. Angela stepped into the room followed by Max.

"Dad," Brennan said quietly. Max went to her side and gave her a gentle hug.

"I was worried about you baby."

"Have you heard anything about Seeley?"

"Bren, sweetie, he's in surgery right now." Brennan looked from her father to Angela, trying to ascertain anything from their expressions.

"How bad? Cullen said he was in an accident, but…"

"Struck by a car." Max watched as his little girl closed her eyes. He knew that she was going over various scenarios in her head related to damage that could be sustained by impact from a car. "We tried to track down where he is and left a message for his doctor to speak with us when he's out."

"Did you hear anything about your little ones?" Angela asked, hoping the news wasn't bad on that front. Brennan sighed and closed her eyes again. There was too much to take in right now.

"They're in NICU right now. The doctor is having them monitored. That's all I've heard."

"Well that's good right? I mean they're safe, right?" Those words made Brennan start to cry. "Tell me they're okay."

"I'm a failure Angela. I can't even carry a child to term, how am I going to do this? I need Booth." Max hugged his daughter again as Angela moved to the other side of the bed to take a free hand in hers.

"Everything's going to be okay, I know it. You're not a failure, this isn't your fault. You'll do wonderful for those little ones, I know you will."

"Honey, you're strong, and you care about those two little babies. That's what matters. You'll do fine, and you have us to help you." Max made soothing circles on her back to calm her down. He held his little girl, who'd been through too much in the past few hours needed him and he'd be damned if he was going anywhere.


	13. Chapter 13

_AN: Okay so I lied. This will probably be my last post for a while. I just knew that everyone would want to know what happened to Booth and whether or not he was okay. The answers are here. Next time I have a chance to post, I'll have my own little bundle of joy to keep me occupied. I hope you enjoy, and like that it isn't all angst for once._

"Okay Temperance, I want you to listen to me carefully. Your little ones are stable for now. They don't seem to have had much trouble with the trauma of birth, so things are looking good for them. You can still provide for them though. The best food for them once they're able to swallow on their own is going to be your breast milk. I'd like you to pump so that there's a supply available for them." The doctor from the NICU sat next to her as she went over the instructions. "For now we'll supply a pump, and I can give you a recommendation on the best brand to use. Is that okay?"

"I'll still be able to feed them?"

"Yes, and when you're up to it, we can take you to see them. Would you like that?"

"Please."

"Okay. Just let me know if there's anything else I can do, and when you're ready to see them, we'll get you to NICU."

"I know it's not your area, but my husband is here. He was in an accident, but I'm not sure how he's doing. I'm not even sure who his doctor is."

"What's his name? I'll see if I can look him up and get an answer for you."

"Thank you so much. His name is Seeley Booth. He's an FBI agent." The doctor made a note of the name and gave a quick nod to Temperance. When she left the room, Temperance closed her eyes. Unbidden for the thousandth time since receiving the news her mind began to catalogue the injuries he could have sustained from an accident. With no information on how fast the car was going, she had no idea how serious the injuries were. As she lay there cataloguing possible scenarios, she did the one thing she never thought she would do. She prayed. "Please, if there is a God out there, let Seeley be okay. I don't know if I could…please. I love him and don't know if I could…I need him. Please let him be okay. Let him live."

XxXxX

Seeley Booth woke slowly, trying to take in the sounds and smells around him. His head pounded making it difficult to think or open his eyes. He heard the beep of several machines and felt a warmth that enveloped his hand. The warmth was soothing, comforting, and he attempted to smile despite the pain. His Bones, his Temperance had to be there with him. He knew that he was in a hospital, but he wasn't sure why or for how long. Every part of him hurt, throbbing with pain. As he grimaced, he felt the hand wrapped around his own squeeze. _That's right Temperance. I'm right here for you. I told you I'd never leave you._

"Seeley, can you hear me? Joe, I think he's coming around. Seeley?" Booth frowned. That wasn't his wife's voice. It belonged to…

"Mom?" Booth slowly opened his eyes finding it hard to focus on the face looming over his own. Stella Booth smiled down on him with tears in her eyes.

"Oh sweetheart, we were so worried. I thought, well never mind what I thought. You're awake." Stella leaned down and placed a kiss to Booth's forehead, unable to stop her tears from falling.

"Where's Temperance?"

"I don't know. We've been trying to call her for over a day now. She's not answering her phone," Joe said as he came to his son's other side. "I'd have assumed that your boss would have called her. He's the one we spoke with."

A panic began to wash over Seeley. Where was his wife? Why wasn't she answering her calls? Why wasn't she here with him? His breathing began to become erratic and his pulse rate increased hugely, setting off an alarm on one of the machines. Nurses and a doctor came running into the room as Stella and Joe were on their feet.

"Seeley, please calm down. Please. He's going to be okay isn't he doctor?" Stella looked at the staff wildly as she was led from the room along with Joe.

"Ma'am, I need you to leave right now until he's stabilized, okay?" The doctor tossed the comment over his shoulder as they were led from the room. Stella clutched at Joe, not knowing what to do, or how to handle her son's panic attack. Where exactly was her daughter-in-law anyway? It wasn't like Temperance to not answer the phone. Something had to have happened to her for her to not be here in the hospital with her husband.

XxXxX

Tim Sullivan made his way to the maternity ward watching the door numbers carefully. He'd overheard Cullen at the FBI building discussing the current state of Agent Booth and Temperance. Even though it was most certainly not his place to have any contact with the pair now, he needed to see Temperance and apologize for his behavior.

When he finally found her door number, he peeked his head inside and found her sitting up with Angela and someone he assumed was her father. He knocked on the door lightly, drawing the attention to himself.

"Sully what are you doing here?" Brennan looked at him in surprise. She'd not expected to see him again after the trouble caused by his presence.

"I overheard Cullen talking about you and had to come see you."

"Well you can see she's fine," Angela practically snarled. Max looked over the three individuals with his eyebrows raised. He wasn't sure what was going on, but whatever it was caused a lot of hostility.

"Look Angela, I didn't want to cause a fight. I came to apologize. It was wrong how I acted and I wanted to get the air cleared so to speak."

"There's nothing you can do that will make up for your actions."

"Angela," Temperance said quietly, effectively shushing the artist. "Sully, do you know where Booth is? I've made inquiries, but no one's gotten back to me yet."

"Yeah, he's in ICU right now."

"In…how serious was the car accident?"

"From what I overheard, it was pretty serious. You haven't been able to see him have you?"

"No. Can you take me?" Brennan began to climb from the hospital bed, but her father stopped her.

"Honey, you need to wait for a wheelchair or something. You can't just walk around the hospital."

"I'll take her. I can carry her if need be, but if Booth is lucid, I'm sure he's wondering where the hell she is." Max looked lost for a moment. He knew his daughter needed to get up there, but he wasn't about to let this man he didn't know take her anywhere. Angela looked from one man to the other and sighed.

"Look, why don't you both go up with her. If her doctor's come in, I'll just explain where she is." Max didn't wait twice. He helped Temperance stand and guided her over to the doorway. He took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders, satisfied that it covered enough of the gap in her hospital gown.

"No one picks her up unless she's having trouble walking, got that?" Sully nodded as he helped guide Temperance toward the elevators. For once Brennan restrained herself from commenting that she could do this on her own. She was still in a lot of pain from the c-section and knew she wouldn't be able to make the distance on her own just yet.

XxXxX

The medication given to Booth for his panic attack was taking effect and he wasn't able to struggle against its relaxing effects. His breathing and heart rate had returned to normal levels though he was still worried about his wife. Something had to have happened to her if she weren't with him.

There was a gentle knock at the door to the room, and Booth turned his head slowly in its direction to see who was there. Max Keenan poked his head inside and smiled at the FBI agent.

"I have someone here to see you son." Max stepped away from the door as Temperance came through. She stood there for a long time looking at him. Slowly a smile spread over his face at the sight of her.

"Bones." The word never sounded better to the forensic anthropologist. A tear slipped from her eye as she made her way across the room to his bedside. As the pair was reunited, Max and Sully slipped out, letting the couple have some private time together.

"Seeley," Brennan whispered before reaching out to caress his face. Her mind somewhat at ease, she leaned down to kiss him. Despite his injuries, she knew he would be okay, and thanked whatever god had answered her prayer.


	14. Chapter 14

Max stood just inside the doorway to Booth's hospital room as he watched his daughter and her husband embrace. Though he'd stayed away for a few months at Temperance's request, there was nothing that would pull him from her side now. Booth pulled away from Temperance with a grimace and took in her appearance, frowning as he did so.

"Bones, what's going on, what happened?"

"When I heard what happened to you I fainted. There was a problem though and they had to perform an emergency cesarean section. Abigail and Xavier are in NICU right now." Booth closed his eyes and took in a breath. Temperance ran a hand through his hair and kissed his forehead. "We'll all be fine Seeley, all four of us."

"Honey, we need to get back to your room. The doctor is probably wondering where you are." Max stepped up next to the pair and helped his daughter to her feet. Booth looked up at his father in law before closing his eyes as the medication relaxed him even more. He could feel himself slipping into sleep.

"Take care of her Max."

"Of course I will Booth." Max helped Brennan stand, noticing her grimace as she placed a hand over her incision. "Come on honey, you need your rest so you can see your little ones." Without saying a word, Brennan allowed Max to guide her out of the room, clutching tightly to his arm as she fought off the wave of dull heat emanating from her abdomen. She paused in the doorway and turned back to Booth.

"I love you Seeley." She saw a smile spread across his lips as he slipped into sleep once more. Max held onto his daughter tightly as they reached the hallway and Sully. The FBI agent had a wheelchair waiting for Temperance which he maneuvered to her side with a flourish.

"Your chariot awaits, Tempe."

"Thank you Sully. I know you didn't have to do this, and I just want you to know that I appreciate the help."

"I hope that means I'm forgiven for my earlier behavior. I admit to being a bit jealous of your husband." Max looked back and forth at the pair wondering what happened between them. He had kept an eye on his daughter, but generally stayed out of her business.

"I think it was inevitable that Booth and I would end up together. He managed to force his way into my life more than anyone ever has."

"You're good together, and I know that it's my own fault that I'm not the one in your life."

"Yes, it is, and since you've apologized for what you did to Booth and I, then I suggest you drop the subject. It's in the past, and I don't want to discuss it anymore. What's done is done." Sully pushed the wheelchair into an elevator and punched in the number for her floor. The three of them were silent on the journey down, each occupied in their own thoughts. When the doors opened, Sully wheeled Brennan back to her room and nodded to her as Max and Angela helped her stand up.

"Well, I've got to get going. Take care Tempe, okay?"

"You too Sully." Brennan smiled at him and gave him a quick hug. "Thank you for taking me to Booth."

"Anytime. I'll see you around, okay?" The agent pulled away from her and left the room as Angela and Max helped her back to her bed. She laid down and closed her eyes as a wave of pain washed over her.

"Sweetie, maybe you should have the doctor look you over. You don't look so good right now."

"I'm fine, just a little sore." Max swept the hair off of Temperance's forehead and looked over at Angela.

"Why don't you go home and get some rest. I'm sure you need it as much as my baby here." Angela grabbed a pad of paper from Brennan's bedside and jotted down a phone number.

"You call me if anything happens. I'll be back in a few hours so you can get some sleep too. Is Russ on his way?"

"He'll be here in the morning. He had to make arrangements for work and get clearance from his parole officer first."

"All right. I'll see you in a little bit, okay?"

"See you then Miss Montenegro." Angela left the room with one quick glance back. She'd never been more worried for her friend, even when she'd been held by the rogue FBI agent, Jamie Kenton. Brennan's whole world seemed to be coming apart at the seams with nothing in place to stop it.

XxXxX

"Well Temperance, are you feeling well enough to go see your little ones?" A nurse stood by Brennan's bedside as she took her blood pressure. While the anthropologist was still sore, she felt much better after getting some sleep. She glanced over at her father, who was asleep in a chair at the foot of the bed. Though only sixty, Max seemed to have aged quite a bit in the last year. He looked worn out even as he slept. Temperance looked back up at the nurse and nodded.

"Yes, just let me tell my father where I'm going."

"Of course. I'll just go get you a wheelchair and we'll head over to see your little ones." The doctor left the room as Temperance swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She shook her father's arm until he opened his eyes to look at her.

"What is it honey," he asked as he yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm going to see Abigail and Xavier. I'll be back in a little while. Can you go look in on Seeley and his parents?"

"Of course I can. I'll see you later, huh?" He kissed his daughter's forehead and stood up while she was wheeled from the room. Come hell or high water, he was going to be around from now on to help her out.

Brennan clutched at the locket around her neck as she and the nurse wheeled her into the NICU and up to an incubator. Inside was possibly the smallest baby she'd ever seen alive. There had been times during her travels and even her work with the FBI that she'd seen the skeletons of fetuses, but never had she been so close to such a tiny baby.

"Meet Abigail," the nurse said with a smile. Brennan leaned in closer to take a look at the little girl. Tubes and monitors were attached all over the tiny baby as a heart monitor beeped the steady progress of the fast heartbeat. "She's just a little over two pounds, big for her age." Brennan touched the outside of the incubator, running her finger down the glass.

"She's beautiful." Temperance ached to touch the little girl, to hold her. She looked up at the nurse, her eyes asking the question that she couldn't ask herself. The nurse smiled and indicated two holes in the side of the incubator.

"We just need to get some gloves on you, but if you put your hands through there, you can touch her." Brennan smiled and snapped on the latex gloves handed to her. She reached carefully through the holes and stroked her little girl's arm.

"Hello Abigail, I'm your mother." She gently glided her fingers over Abigail, learning her size and sensitive spots.

"When you're done here, you can see Xavier as well. He's just over here," the nurse said as she pointed to another incubator. "Once both of them are able to maintain their vitals on their own, you'll be able to hold them. Recent studies have shown that skin to skin contact is vital to their development, and they can end up leaving the hospital earlier than babies not offered touch."

"Of course it would be important. They learn through touch, whether from exploring their environment or from interaction with others." Temperance stroked her hand across her daughter's miniature one, marveling at the tiny fingers and fingernails there."

"Obviously they still have some developing to do, but they're both strong little fighters so we're optimistic that they'll be here on the shorter end of the scale." Brennan looked up at the nurse for a moment as the tiny fingers clutched around her own much larger one.

"What kind of a timeline should we expect before they're out of the hospital?"

"Well, assuming that they gain weight at a normal rate, they should be here for at least ten more weeks. You would expect them to reach what would be full term before they're ready to be released from the hospital. I know the doctor spoke to you about pumping, so if that's something you're interested in doing for them, then I can have the lactation consultant see you in your room later."

"If that's what's best for them, then absolutely." Temperance pulled her hands out of the incubator and made her way over to Xavier's. She looked down at him, and though he'd yet to gain the fat that would fill out his little form, she could already see the makings of another Booth male. Seeley would be thrilled to hear the news about his son and daughter, and so would Max, Stella and Joe.

After switching gloves, she slipped her hands in to greet her son, his tiny form overwhelmed with wires just like his sister. Brennan's eyes welled up and before she could stop, she started to cry.

"Are you okay," the nurse asked, not at all distressed at the sudden swing in mood from the anthropologist.

"I just feel like I'm being punished somehow. I didn't want children, and was so upset when I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't even carry them to term. How is that going to make me a good mother?"

"My own son was premature, so I totally understand how you feel. These things happen, and there's no rhyme or reason behind it. Having them early will not make you a bad mother. If anything it will make you stronger. You have to be strong for them, help them fight to live." Temperance nodded as she sniffled, trying to stem the flow of the tears. The nurse was right of course. She needed to be there for her children, but more than that, she also had to be there for Seeley. It was the thought that she was in this alone that worried her more than anything. She had three people counting on her to be the strong one, but she didn't know if she could do it without putting her heart back in the box.

XxXxX

"I just think that it's not right that we haven't heard from Temperance, that's all," Stella said as she, Joe, Rebecca and Parker sat in the cafeteria. They'd left Booth alone to sleep after his earlier panic attack, deciding that some recovery time was in order for him. Rebecca frowned at Stella's comment and picked at the sandwich on her plate.

"There must be something going on because there's no way that Temperance would just ignore your calls. Have you tried contacting the Jeffersonian to see what's going on with her? If anyone would know, it would be Angela."

"We've been so worried about Seeley, it just slipped my mind. I guess I just expected her to be here when we arrived." Rebecca looked up from the table and saw Max Keenan come into the cafeteria. She'd met him only once, at Temperance and Seeley's wedding in Las Vegas where he'd been the accidental minister for the ceremony. Once Parker spotted the older man, his face split into a grin. Over the past eight weeks he'd had the chance to spend time with Max and the two bonded almost immediately.

"Grandpa Max!" The little boy jumped up from the table and threw himself into Max's open embrace. Everyone at the table turned to look at him when he walked over with Parker.

"Mr. and Mrs. Booth it's nice to see you again," he said as he held out his hand. Joe shook it as Max sat down with the enthusiastic child. He then turned to Rebecca and nodded his greeting. "Rebecca, how are you doing?"

"I'm well thanks. What are you doing here by yourself? Is Temperance up with Seeley?"

"She's here at the hospital, but not with him. No, she's in the NICU visiting the twins."

"What twins? Is there someone else she knows that was expecting?" Stella looked confused as Max shook his head.

"There were some complications, and she had to have an emergency surgery."

"Why weren't we told?"

"Everything occurred so quickly, and I don't have her address book. I'm sorry but I've been just a little concerned about my daughter's welfare to think about calling anyone else. She's already been up to see Booth, and asked me to come find you now that the situation's under control."

"Bones had the babies," Parker asked as he sat comfortably next to Max. The ex-con ruffled the little boy's hair and smiled.

"She did, so that makes you a big brother."

"When can I see them?" Parker practically bounced with excitement.

"Once they come out of the NICU then you can see them. I'm sure once Temperance is feeling better then she'll tell you all about them," Rebecca said to her son. "For now we need to let her rest, just like your father, okay?"

"I guess so."

"Good, then why don't we go to the gift shop and you can pick out a card for them." Rebecca stood and took her son by the hand. As she left the table, she looked at Max. "You give Temperance our best and let her know that when she's up to it, we'll come visit."

"Absolutely, and thank you Rebecca. I know she'll need the support."


End file.
